A Project Called Angel
by KittyoftheNight
Summary: Trapped in solitude her entire life Angel never even saw the outside word, but thanks to a new found friend in red, she may finally get the chance to find her voice in the world with a life of her own. How deep does the truth go? VincentxOC
1. An Angel Lurks in the Depths

A Project Called Angel

Chapter 1

No-ones POV

A man wondered round the old Shin-Ra mansion. It had been destroyed some time ago, now it lay still, reduced to rubble. It had been a few years since everything happened, he heard that somehow Kadaj and his gang were back and worse than before. He had hoped that by coming here, that he could find some information inside the old laboratory, though he hated that place more than anything. He sighed as he threw aside an old piece of wall that was blocking his way to a set of steps, making his way down further into the old run down mansion. He remembered this place quite well, seeing as he had worked here long ago as a Turk, how he loathed the memory that had ended up in his traumatic end, and resulted in what he is now. He gave a slight growl at the thought of it as he opened the final door, which led into a place worse than hell, or at least of his experience anyways. He walked around inside the laboratory, finding different things covered in thick layers of dust. He finally came across what he was looking for, it was an old file cabinet covered in dust and cobwebs. This was what he was looking for. Opening a drawer, he pulled it out revealing a mess of files. He set it on the table next to him and started going through them. He came across a certain file, catching his eye, he pulled it out and opened it. A small journal fell out among a few pictures that had been within the folder. He looked down at it and picked it up 'Hojo's _Angel_' that's what it read on the cover. Letting curiosity get the better of him, he allowed his hand to open the book to a random page.

~The **A**rtificial **N**ano-network **G**enetically **E**ngineered **L**ife, aka Angel as I like to call her , is doing quite well. We finally managed to sprout wings from her, it was brilliant, a true site to behold. She seemed to be in pain during the process, but it's not the first, nor will it be the last. I know that she is still in the child stage, but things seem to be going well. Her screams remind me of another experiment of mine, the Chaos experiment, quite a wondrous one at that. Oh, how I enjoy her screams, they fill me with such joy.~

He always knew that Hojo was sick, but doing that to a child? The man flipped to a different page.

~Angel's body seems to be fighting the Jenova cells that we injected her with. Though she is full grown, I would have thought that her body would have been reacting a bit differently, after all, I did make her myself. Then again, I did observe a strange marking on her left arm. It wasn't there yesterday, it's quite strange actually, there shouldn't be any markings on her body at all. Perhaps the Jenova cells are doing more than I originally thought. Also, I thought that I felt a pulsing sort of sensation coming from her, I think that I'll check it out tomorrow though. It's sad really, how President Shin-Ra has left me with this one experiment. He has taken away all of the others, including one of my favorites, Chaos. How I will miss experimenting on him, but at least they have left me Angel, though I fear that something is coming soon, and it may also take her away from me too. It's a shame really, seeing as she hasn't even gotten the chance to spread her wings yet, but all things must pay a price I guess.~

The man has a weird way of looking at things, the man thought to himself. He then looked down upon the pictures that lay on the table. **Hm? What's this? She has gold and green-blue mako eyes.** the man thought to himself as he looked at the picture. Yes it was true, one eye was gold, while the other was that mako greenish blue. They seemed to glow almost in the picture. (right eye gold, left eye green-blue) Though they also seemed to hold a sadness to them, though that didn't surprise him any, seeing as she was yet another experiment of his (Hojo). **I think I'll take this with me** he thought as he slid the small journal into one of his pockets, along with adding the pictures to the journal. He then put the drawer back inside the filing cabinet, making sure that it was in its rightful place and made his way out of the office door. He noticed that a few of the test tubes were still in tacked, though there was one in particular that caught his eye. It was in the corner in the back, it seemed to glow slightly, signaling that there was still some life to it. He made his way over to it, his eyes widening slightly at the site before him. Before him sat a young girl curled up in a ball, wings wrapped around her body in a deep sleep. Though it was strange, the liquid, though mostly green, seemed to be giving off a reddish look. The name 'ANGEL' had been engraved on a metal plate, attached to the test tube. A few bubbles came out of her mouth as her eyes opened. They stared down at him with a plethora of emotions: sadness, fear, curiosity, loneliness, confusion, and longing. Her slender hand fell lightly against the glass, his following suit and laid upon hers. The only thing separating them, was the sheet of glass that she was incased in. as he looked into the deep pools of gold and mako, he saw only one word, one plea…help. Though she could not say it, he could see it in her eyes, he knew that he had to help her, he knew that he had to get her out of there somehow. He stepped back from the glass, her eyes becoming sad, thinking that he was going to leave her. "Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of there" his voice was deep and smooth, seeming to sooth her soul. He walked over to the machine controlling the tube and looked over it, releasing a sigh as he tried to figure it out. Though he had worked with these machines a few times, he was no expert and did not wish to hurt the young girl that lay in the tube, wishing to finally be free. No matter how much he tried though, the machine simply would not work, though it wasn't surprising seeing how old it was. He sighed, knowing that there was now only one way to free her from her isolation, he would literally have to brake her free from it. He just hoped that it wouldn't do her any harm. Slowly, he walked towards the tube, pulling out his Death Penalty and aimed it at the glass. He looked into her eyes, those eyes that held confusion and uncertainty. Though as she looked back at him she seemed to get a sense of understanding and closed her eyes, wrapping her wings tighter round her body, showing the man that she was ready. She could hear the sound of the gun going off as the glass began to shatter, draining the tube of its liquid and finally allowing her to rid it from her lungs. Her body fell from the now empty tube, the man catching her before she could hit the ground, allowing her to bring the greenish liquid up and out of her body. Seeming to sense the groggy after effect, he picked her up in his arms, removing his long red cape and wrapped it securely around her. He then proceeded to leave the old rundown mansion, her wrapped up in his cape as he held her in his arms. At this point, she had already fallen into a deep sleep, leaving him to watch over her until she awoke. He gave a slight sigh as he looked down at her, knowing that she was yet another experiment that Hojo had created, another experiment…like him. He then brought his attention back to the case at hand, and continued forward, knowing the one place that he could bring her. He just hoped that his 'friend' wouldn't mind too much.


	2. 7th Heaven: A New Life

A Project Called Angel

Chapter 2 ~A New Life~

No-ones POV

The man stood there in front of a place called 7th Heaven. It was a bar yes, but it was also home to a few kids that were orphans, it was also home to a few of his friends. He then carefully opened the two big doors in front of him, seeing as he still held the girl in his arms. He made his way inside , careful not to wake her, and was greeted by a young woman behind a bar. "Oh, hey Vincent, how…" she didn't finish. He watched as her grip slackened on the glass that she was holding, almost dropping it, before realizing and then setting it on the counter. She quickly made her way over to him, after realizing what he was holding. "Vincent, who…what…" she didn't know how to get the words out, or really what to say for that matter.

"I found her at Shin-Ra's old mansion…she's an experiment of Hojo's" he stated, seeing as his young friend had just caught partial site of the girl's white wings. She stood silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Come on, let's get her upstairs so she can lay down" he nodded his head and followed her up the steps, as she brought him to a room and opened the door. "Okay, just lay her on the bed" he just gave a nod as he complied and laid her down.

"Tifa, by any chance, do you happen to have any clothes that she could have?" he questioned, not taking his eyes from the girl that now lay on the bed, still wrapped tight in his cape. Tifa smiled at her quiet friend and nodded her head.

"Of course, but…I'll have to ask you to leave the room for a few minutes though." Once again, Vincent just nodded his head as he left the room silently, leaving Tifa to get her dressed. Vincent could hear her gasp, most likely at the site of the girl's two great white wings, this made him smile on the inside, though it was partially a sad smile, though still a smile nonetheless. A few minutes had past, then Tifa had called him back into the room. The girl now had her chest wrapped in cloth, obviously, her wings got in the way too much for Tifa to do anything, and she also dawned a pair of shorts. "I can't seem to get the shirt on her, so I need your help." Vincent once again gave a nod and walked over to the side of the bed, gently taking hold of the girl's wings and closing them. Tifa tried once more to get the shirt on her, but the holes in the back were still too small. She sighed and then spoke once more, "It looks like I'm going to have to make the holes bigger." She grabbed a pair of nearby scissors and cut down the shirt once more, making the slits longer. "Ok, this should work, but I'm probably going to have to sew zippers onto it later" she told him as she brought the shirt back over and started to slip it over the girl's wings. Finally, after some help from Vincent, they managed to get it on, letting her wings stick out through the back. "Ah…there, that's much better" she said looking down at the girl and then over at Vincent. He nodded his head and also looked down at the girl as she slept in peace. "You know, if you want, she can stay here, I don't mind, really. Besides you also have a room here, so if you want you can stay in here with her till she wakes: she looked over to him, to see him lift his gaze and nod.

"Thank you…Tifa." She smiled at him as he tried to loosen up a bit.

"No problem Vincent, besides, what are friends for?" she gave a slight laugh as she said this, allowing him to nod once more in recognition. "Now, why don't you come down stairs and I'll fix you something to eat? Besides, I'm making everyone else dinner anyways, so it's really no trouble" he nodded at her request, and followed her downstairs, closing the door behind him and leaving the young girl to rest in silence.

2 Days Later

Tifa had closed the bar today, giving herself a break from work and was now cooking breakfast for everyone. The only one's up, were her and Vincent, though he was still upstairs with that girl that he had brought in with him two days ago. She still couldn't hardly believe what she had seen, that young girl, she felt sorry for her, having had to be experimented on, how sad. Although, she was completely fascinated by her wings, those two big white wings, though they were still wet at the time, they were still so soft. She remembered how she had gasped when she had removed Vincent's cape from her, they were just so beautiful. She just hoped that Cloud wouldn't mind when he got back, which reminded her, he should be back sometime today. Mean while, upstairs, Vincent sat and watched the girl as she slept, sensing that she was starting to awaken, he stood before her, off to the side of the bed. He watched as she opened her eyes, looking around her, and taking everything in all at once. When her eyes finally landed on him, her lips curved, forming a smile, and her eyes showing him her happiness that she was happy to finally be free.

"You must be hungry, seeing as you've been asleep for two days" she looked at him for a moment, then hearing a sort of growling noise being produced from inside her, felt her cheeks turn red, though she couldn't understand why.

"I'll take that as a yes" he said, as he stepped forward and reached his hand out, extending it for her to take. She looked at it for a moment, realizing that he wanted her to take it, and reached her own hand out to set itself within his. Grasping it, he gently pulled her up out of the bed, allowing her feet to rest on the cold floor. "Come, let's get you something to eat" though as she tried to walk forward, her wobbly legs fell underneath her, her legs now resting on the floor causing her to look down in embarrassment. Vincent knelt down in front of her, gently taking her face in his right hand, causing her to look up at him. "It's ok, I didn't expect you to be perfect your first time" she just looked at him as he brought his hand out once more for her to take, this time she didn't hesitate and took it the moment that it was given to her. He pulled her up once more, this time keeping a hold on her as she once again, attempted to walk. Finally, after a few minutes, they managed to make it downstairs, Vincent carrying her down the steps so that she wouldn't fall.

"Hey Vincent, I was wondering when you were finally going to come down, and I see that you brought _her_ down with you as well" she said, smiling as the two of them made their way over to the bar. "Hey there, I'm Tifa, what's your name?" she smiled as she extended her hand, the girl just looked at it, not sure what to do, until Vincent took her hand and put it in Tifa's.

"Her name is Angel" Vincent said, seeing as she couldn't talk or rather, she didn't know how. Tifa gently shook 'Angel's' hand smiling at her the whole time.

"Well, I guess you're hungry…here" she said, setting a plate of food in front of Angel, though she made no move to do anything, but instead, just looked at it. She watched as Tifa held a strange shinny object in her hand and took a bite of her own 'food' as she called it. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked as she gave Angel a quizzical look. Angel looked down at the 'plate' then back up at Tifa, then back down at the plate, _then_ back up at Tifa. Tifa laughed as she watched Angel, apparently not used to this sort of thing. "it's okay, see it's good," she said as she carefully brought another bite up to her mouth, opening it and placing it inside. Allowing herself to chew the food, then finally done with that, allowed herself to swallow it. "see?" she said smiling once again, closely watching as Angel looked at her own shinny object. "That's a fork, see? I have one too" she told her, holding them both up for Angel to see. "You eat with it." Angel just looked at it, then slowly, she picked it up and put it in her mouth, trying to chew on it. Tifa laughed as she watched this, Vincent only shook his head, though Tifa knew better though, she knew that he thought it funny as well. He came over, removing the 'fork' form Angel's mouth, he then got some food on it and put it in his own, Angel watching the while time, taking in everything that he did. He sat there on the stool next to her, leaning over the counter partially, elbow on the counter as he held the fork in his hand, extending it for her to take. She carefully took the fork from him and looked at it for a moment, before looking back at Vincent. Giving her a nod, she brought her attention back to the fork, bringing it down to the plate and picked some of the food up, Vincent sat there watching her the whole time. He watched as she then brought the fork up to her mouth, looking at Vincent once more, as he gave her a nod once again, she put it in her mouth. She turned to Vincent as she swallowed the food, smiling at him as the fork still lay within her mouth. He just sat there, as he pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head and trying his hardest not to smile. Even though on the inside, he was telling himself that it was cute, but still. "Come on Vincent, you have to admit, it _is_ amusing" Tifa said with a smirk on her face.

"I never said it wasn't" Tifa laughed, and turned her attention to the oncoming footsteps that descended from the stairs, finding them to be that of a little girl. She had long brown hair, that was placed in a braid, a little [ink ribbon tied to it and a little pink dress to match, along with two cute brown eyes. She smiled as she watched the little girl's eyes travel towards Angel. She gasped in awe as she looked upon her white wings.

"Wow…pretty!" she squealed as she ran over to Angel. "Who are you?" she asked, excited as can be. Angel sat there not really knowing what was going on, she looked to Vincent for some sort of answer.

"Her name is Angel" he said, causing the little girl to giggle in excitement. She turned back to Angel wit h a smile on her face.

"That's a pretty name, mine's Marlene. Nice to meet you" she said, holding her hand out towards Angel, like Tifa had done not too long ago. Angel smiled, putting her hand in Marlene's and shacking it. "Can I touch your wings?" she asked, though somehow Angel seemed to understand, and nodded her head. Both Tifa and Vincent watched as Marlene reached her hand out and brought it down to lay on Angel's wing, it seemed to put her at ease somehow at the feeling of Marlene's hand. "Wow…they're so…soft" they both had smiles on their faces (Marlene and Angel) at this, and Vincent and Tifa just watched with intrigue, that is until the doors burst open, revealing a man with spiky blond hair and mako eyes. Angel hid behind Vincent's now standing form, scared at the sudden intruder. Vincent brought his cape around her small form, hiding her from this new person. She held onto his waist, causing his body to stiffen for a moment, seeing as he was not used to too much physical contact.

"Cloud…what's wrong, is everything alright?" Tifa asked, sensing that something wasn't right. The man just strode forward, closer to Angel's currently hidden form.

"Yeah…apparently the rumors are true about Kadaj and his gang. In fact, I even saw them myself as you can plainly see" he said, showing off a few of his cuts. That's when he finally noticed Angel hiding within Vincent's cape. "Who's she?" he asked quietly as Vincent slowly brought his cape away from Angel's awaiting form, allowing a quiet gasp to escape Cloud's lips. "What is she?" he asked as he took a step back, looking down at her as she kept her wings tucked tight behind her . Vincent quickly brought his cape back around her, hiding her from Cloud as she hugged Vincent's waist.

"Unfortunately, one of Hojo's experiments" that was all that Vincent said, as he looked Cloud straight in the eyes, daring him to make an accusation.

" How can you be sure it's safe , that it's not dangerous!?" he yelled, Vincent could feel Angel shacking against him as Cloud yelled. Marlene ran over in front of Vincent and Angel, looking up at Cloud she spoke.

"Cloud, leave Angel alone! She hasn't done anything to you, so leave her alone!" she yelled as she went into Vincent's cape and hugged her softly.

"Marlene, you don't know what she's capable of!" Marlene jumped slightly, catching Vincent's attention.

"Cloud, you don't know anything about her, so how can you say that? Marlene asked as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"All I need to know is that she's one of Hojo's experiments" at this Vincent sent a glare towards Cloud, at his statement, yes, he had pissed Vincent off.

"Then what do you think I am Cloud?" he said, a slight steely tone in his voice.

"Cloud! That's enough, leave her alone" Tifa shouted, making her way around the bar and over to Vincent, Marlene, and Angel, along with sending a glare towards Cloud herself. He looked down and let out a sigh, before bringing his head up to face everyone for a moment.

"…I'm sorry…" that was all that he said as he set down at the bar and laid his head on the counter. As if sensing his dismay, Angel brought herself from under Vincent's cape and slowly walked over to Cloud, standing there for a moment before laying her hand lightly on his shoulder, making both him and her jump. Cloud slowly brought his head from the counter, allowing his gaze to rest on Angel. She only looked down, spreading her wings wide, showing Cloud, basically saying 'this is what I am', as though ashamed of what she was. "Hm?" he watched as a tear rolled down her cheek, landing on the floor, shattering. He let out a sigh before facing her completely. "Look…I'm sorry ok…you don't need to cry" she didn't really do anything, all she did was turn around and walk back to Vincent, using the counter for support. Vincent walked towards her, picking her up in his arms and walked up the steps into her room, closing the door behind him. Cloud let out a sigh, facing Tifa, "I said I was sorry…" she just shook her head, grabbing the rest of Angel's food and headed upstairs to join Vincent, Marlene following behind her as she did. Cloud slammed his hand on the counter and shouted, "I said I was sorry!" he got up and left, slamming the doors behind him and riding off on his motorcycle.


	3. A Crystal Tear

A Project Called Angel

Chapter 3 ~A Crystal Tear~

Vincent had set Angel on the bed, allowing Marlene to crawl up next to her. Tifa looked over at Angel, a sad smile upon her face as she turned her gaze toward Vincent. "Hey Marlene?" she said, turning back toward the little girl that currently sat next to Angel.

"Hm?"

"Would you mind staying in here with Angel for a while? I need to talk to Vincent" Marlene nodded her head as she started playing with Angel's long hair. Some of the tension left the room as Tifa and Vincent left, leaving Angel a little more at ease.

"Hey Angel, why don't I braid your hair? Then it'll be like mine, see?" Marlene turned her head around, allowing Angel view of her braid, it caused her to smile and she nodded her head. "Really? Yay!" she squealed as she started trying to braid her hair, while Vincent and Tifa talked down stairs. A couple hours later, Vincent and Tifa came back upstairs, upon entering the room, it was silent. There, in the bed lay both Angel and Marlene, Marlene curled up next to her, hugging her as one of Angel's wings lay on top of them, both laying silently in a peaceful sleep.

"Aw…that's so cute…heh, it looks like Marlene is already getting attached to her…" Tifa smiled as she looked at the site before her, noticing the new braid that had been placed in Angel's hair, though the silver streak of hair lay beside her shoulder, loose from the rest. Vincent had already guessed how she had gotten it, it was most likely from the Jenova cells that Hojo had injected her with, though he was surprised at how small it was, but nonetheless, it was still there. Tifa silently walked towards the bed, pulling the covers up over the two of them, making her way back over to the door and exiting with Vincent. It really was something though, seeing how close Marlene and Angel had become in such a short amount of time, it made Tifa smile though, she was happy that Marlene had a new friend, and she was happy that Angel now had Marlene as a friend. **I wonder what Barret would say if he saw this** she thought to herself, allowing a small laugh to break through at the thought of it. She continued down the steps, making her way over to the bar and started cleaning up, Vincent following, and setting down on a stool as he began to think about things. Something on the floor caught Vincent's eye, the light shinned off it, causing Vincent to kneel down for further inspection. His eyes slightly wide now, as he looked upon it, it was a tiny crystal or rather pieces of one. He remembered a tear falling from Angel's eyes, when she stood in front of Cloud, her wings spread wide for him to see, he remembered it falling to the ground and…shattering. His eyes turned sad as he came to a realization, he couldn't even imagine everything that Hojo must have done to her for her tears to end up this way, though beautiful, they were still sad. "Huh? What's that Vincent?" Tifa asked, now standing beside him, the pieces in his hand.

"Pieces…of a crystal tear…" she gave a strange face, one of confusion as she looked at him.

"What do you mean 'crystal tear'…?" Vincent didn't look at her though as he spoke again, his eyes resting on the fragments in his open hand.

"…It's Angel's…" his hand closing tightly around the pieces, making his way back upstairs, opening his door and laying on his bed. Tifa just stood there, still thinking about what Vincent said, realizing some of it, but unsure if she wanted to believe it. Mean while, Vincent sat in his room, allowing what he had just found to completely sink in. he pulled the journal out, curiosity taking hold of him once again and opened it. Even though he didn't like what he read, he still felt the need to know more about her, how she was made, maybe why. The pictures that he had hidden in it, slipped from the pages and landed gently on his chest, he ignored them though for the time being, and concentrated on the pages within the tiny book.

~I hope that in making Angel, I will make the greatest SOLDIER yet, she will be a new generation of genetically engineered SOLDIER's. I have it all planned out, my hope is that she'll be equally just as strong as Sephiroth, if not stronger. After she's finished, I hope to have Sephiroth train her. Oh, the excitement is just too much, I just can't wait until she is finished.~

He flipped to a different page, reading what else Hojo had written.

~Her hair has grown quite long, I think that Ill cut some of it off, that way I can use it for other experiments. So far, the scanners reading well, her mind is growing stronger by the day. It's funny really…how she hasn't the slightest clue as to what she is, poor thing probably never will. If Lucrecia were still here, she would say that it's sad, that she doesn't have any memories to look back on. Oh well, she's been here her whole life, how can she have any, if she's never going to leave?~

Vincent's grip tightened on the book as he read this, Hojo really was a sick man. He closed the book, having had enough for one day and made his way into the other room to check up on Angel. Upon entering, he found himself surprised, Marlene was now awake with a worried look upon her face as she watched Angel toss and turn in her bed violently. "Vincent, she won't stop. Is she having a nightmare?" Marlene looked to Vincent for an answer.

"It would seem so" he walked over to the bed, gripping Angel's shoulders firmly, shacking her a little, trying to wake her. "Angel…Angel, wake up"

"Angel…? Vincent, why isn't she waking up?" Marlene was now starting to get worried, as was he. It was strange, something seemed to have a hold on her, and wasn't letting go either. "Vincent, can't you help her?" Marlene pleaded as she watched Angel 's face contort in pain.

"I can try…" he shook her a few more times, still not getting a response, he laid his right hand on her head, pulling it away quickly. **there's no way she can be that hot** he thought to himself. "Marlene, get Tifa, I want the two of you to fill the tub with ice…hurry" Marlene ran down the stairs, following Vincent's directions.

"Tifa! Tifa! Angel needs help!" he could hear the two of them running back up the stairs and into the room.

"Vincent, what's going on?" he looked toward her quickly.

"There is no time to explain..we need to fill the tub with ice…now" she looked over at Angel, seeing that she was in pain.

"Ok" With that, Tifa ran back downstairs, Marlene following behind her.

Vincent grabbed hold of Angel, picking up her burning body and walked into the bathroom, gently placing her in the tub as Tifa ran back upstairs holding two big bags of ice, Marlene holding a smaller one. "Marlene, go get Denzel, we can use all of the help that we can get" Tifa tossed him one of the bags, allowing him to tear it open with his claw, emptying the bag into the tub on top of her body. After about ten minutes, the tub was finally full, her body completely covered in ice, Vincent allowed himself to turn the shower to cold on full blast, cooling her red hot face and allowing her breathing to slow. He waited for a minute before leaning over to check her, her eyes flying open, her head flying forward, colliding with his own.

"Ah…" he groaned, holding his head in his hand, both Marlene and Tifa laughing at the site.

"Are you…ok…Vincent?" Tifa asked between laughs.

"No" he then watched as Angel lunged forward, grabbing her left arm in pain. **the mark** he grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and flew out the window, his cape swirling around his body as he sped towards the river in the Forgotten City. He could hear as she screamed in pain, her head on his chest as she cried those crystal tears of hers. She let out another scream as he landed, running toward the water, taking her with him as he went deeper. He pinched his nose closed and hers and went underneath the water. It seemed to put her in pain for a moment, the Jenova cells fighting for control as the life stream in the river swirled around her body, trying to sooth the pain, make it go away if possible. He looked into her eyes, watching as they both became that glowing mako green-blue color, though as fast as it came, it left, leaving her once again with two different colored eyes, one gold and the other, that mako color. She stared back the whole time, watching his eyes as well, those deep pools of red that graced his smooth pale face. He watched as Angel opened her mouth, air bubbles escaping signaling Vincent that she needed fresh air as he brought her back up to the surface. Angel allowed herself to breathe in the new air that was presented to her, taking it in eagerly, filling her lungs, cooling them with its touch. She clung to Vincent once her lungs were satisfied, wanting to be free from the water. As if sensing her request, he pulled her from the water, along with himself and sat on the shore, her still clinging to him, not wanting to let go. Though, he also noticed that she was shacking, obviously cold from being in the water and pulled her close to him as he stood up. "Let's get you back before you get sick" he pulled her up a bit more, before walking forward and slowly, but surely leaving the Forgotten City.


	4. Introductions

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 4**

Vincent placed her on her bed upon returning. She lay there asleep, still wet with water, her silver streak of hair sticking to her face. Tifa stood inside the room, placed by Angel's bed, watching her as she slept. "Vincent…what happened?" Tifa looked up at him, wondering what was to be said.

"I'm not completely sure…Tifa?"

"Hm?" He hesitated for a moment.

"You've noticed her eyes…correct?" he stood there waiting for an answer. She gave him a confused look before answering,

"Yes, one is gold while the other is…" she stopped upon realizing what it was, he merely nodded, confirming her unfinished statement. "You mean…" she stopped once more, unable to finish her sentence or more likely, not wanting to finish it.

"Yes, she was injected with Jenova cells. An act Hojo saw to commit; a sin within its self. I believe that is why she has that streak of silver hair" he finished, looking at Angel's sleeping form, that is until he noticed something peculiar, the mark on her left arm was smaller now. The only thing different about it, besides the fact that it was somewhat smaller, was the fact that it now seemed to have wrapped itself around her arm. **Strange** he thought as he walked over to her and placed his right hand on it, pulling it back quickly once it sent a surge of pain through his arm. "Ah" Tifa looked up at him with a worried face.

"Vincent, are you okay?" she inquired as she lifted her gaze to his arm.

"I'll be fine" he gazed down at her again, watching as her eyelids flickered in her sleep. Tifa got up from her spot, making her way to the door as she turned her attention back to Vincent.

"Well…I'm going to head downstairs and get ready, the gang should be coming later today" she left, closing the door behind her, leaving Vincent to watch over Angel.

**Later that night**

Angel's eyes flickered, opening momentarily, looking around only to find an empty room. She held a confused look upon her face as she did this, for she had thought that Vincent would have been there when she woke up. She sat there for a moment, hearing voices downstairs, one of them being Vincent's. this caused her to smile, she now knew where he was. Deciding that she wanted to see Vincent, she got up, trying her hardest not to fall. She used the bed for support and started to walk to the door, upon getting there, losing her balance and fell. She sat there for a moment before grabbing the door knob and pulling herself up. She smiled to herself, seeing that it was becoming slightly easier for her to walk and exited the room, using the wall for balance. The voices grew louder as she descended down the steps, being careful not to fall as she made her way to the bottom. The first one to notice her was Marlene, who came running toward her in an excited manner.

"Angel!" she squealed, hugging her tightly around the waist, causing all to go silent in the process. Angel could feel her face flush as she spotted all of the people around her, people that she had never seen before. The people around her were complete strangers, besides Vincent, Tifa, Marlene, Denzel, and Cloud that is. She looked at Vincent, then at Tifa, unsure of what was going on. A man with short blond hair, scruffy face, and goggles on got up and approached her, a skeptical look on his face.

"Who's she?" his voice was strange and different the way he spoke (country accent) "Better yet, what is she?" Angel took a step back, her wings coming around and folding over her arms in a scared manner, remembering how Cloud had reacted.

"Cid…" Vincent spoke, drawing the man's attention away from her for a moment.

"Huh?" Tifa got up and walked forward

"…You're scaring her" Tifa said, finishing for Vincent and standing beside Angel. "It's okay, they're friends" she smiled down at Angel, watching as she brought her wings back behind her. "See? It's okay" she took her by the hand and brought her over to set beside Vincent, knowing that she'd be more comfortable that way. She laughed, as she watched her hide behind Vincent, taking hold of his cape as she tried to hide her face some while peeking out to look around. A little cat then started to walk towards her, jumping up on her head and stared down at her.

"What in de world are you do'in lassey?" this caused her to freak out, jumping and falling backwards into one of the bar stools and landing on the floor.

"Angel! Are you okay?" Marlene cried as she ran towards her, kneeling down by her side, making sure she was alright.

"What in de world lassey" the cat said, now on her head once again, this time, she lunged forward, running under Vincent's newly opened cape and hid. "What's wrong wit her, never seen a talk'n cat before?" the cat said, as Marlene picked him up and held him. Tifa sighed, walking behind the bar

"I don't think that's the case Cait, she's not used to all of this attention, meeting so many people at once, it scares her" Vincent just stood there as Tifa finished, looking down at Angel as she hid within his cape, hugging him tightly around the waist in a scared manner. He could feel her shacking slightly as they stood there, all of the attention becoming too much for her.

"Angel…?" Marlene called as she lifted Vincent's cape up, looking up at Angel as she stood slightly behind Vincent. "It's okay, they're our friends" Marlene said, as she took Angel's hand, pulling her out from underneath Vincent's cape so that everyone could see her. Though once she was out again, another problem was presented.

"Wow! Cool! I just love your wings!" it was a hyper-active girl with short black hair and a ninja outfit on. She ran over towards Angel, circling her, as if measuring her up or something (with this girl, you never know what's going to happen) "Hm…I like them!" she said, then suddenly pulled a feather from Angel, causing her to cry out in pain, a crystal tear escaping her and falling to the ground as she ran back over to Vincent, hugging him tightly.

"Yuffie! How could you!? I mean what in the world do you think you're doing!?" Tifa yelled, marching around the bar and coming over to smack her hand.

"Ouch!" Tifa glared at her

"What is wrong with you?"

Yuffie looked down, holding her hand in pain, "I just wanted a feather, that's all…" her voice trailed off, slightly realizing what she had done was indeed wrong, that is, until she noticed something shiny on the floor. "Oooww, pretty…" she had found one of Angel's crystal tears, now holding it in her hand in wonder.

"Give it here lassey, let me see it" Cait said, snatching it from Yuffie's hands.

"Hey! That's mine!" she whined as she watched Cait fiddle with it.

"Oh, shut your gop lassey! You're too loud for your own good" Yuffie just huffed and puffed, acting like a child, though of course Marlene acted far more mature than she did. Vincent looked down at Angel, feeling a tug on his leather suit, finding her to be looking up at him. He seemed to get her message as he looked into her eyes, sensing that she wanted to leave and picked her up, taking her back upstairs into her room. He sat her down on her bed, looking at her, his eyes holding slight confusion as another tear rolled down her delicate cheek, forming a crystal before it made contact with the bed sheets. Vincent kneeled down in front of her, as he picked the crystal tear up in his hand and set it within her own.

"You shouldn't cry…it's alright" She just looked at him, not really understanding what he was saying, but for some reason, gave a tiny smile.


	5. Eye, Ear, Mouth

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 5**

~**3 Months Later**~

Angel ran down the steps, full of excitement, a huge grin spread across her face. She ran over to Vincent, grabbing his hand and tugging lightly to get his attention. "Vin, Vin" she called, drawing his attention toward her. "Eye…ear…mouth…eye, ear, mouth" she said smiling up at him "Vin, eye, ear, mouth" she said, making his lip curve ever so slightly.

"Yes Angel…I also have two eyes…two ears…and a mouth" he said, brushing his fingers against each part of them on her head as he called their names, making her giggle in the process. "We also have…a nose…two lips…" he said, pinching them lightly "…two arms…two hands…then fingers…two legs…" he said, quickly picking her up, causing her to let out a startled cry. "…and two feet" he said, tickling her feet lightly making her let out a ticklish laugh, squirming lightly in his arms as he set down on a chair. "…We also have…ten toes…" he told her, as he played with her toes, causing her to let out yet another laugh. After a little bit, Angel made her way out of Vincent's grasp, standing in front of him as she smiled, standing close to him.

She then brought her hand up to his face "Vin…have t-two eyes…two ears…" she pulled on them ever so slightly, giggling to herself "Vin have…a n-nose…two lips" she pinched them lightly, just as he had done to her. "Vin have…two arms…two hands…ten fingers?" she asked, looking at him, he gave her a nod, making her smile "Vin have two legs" she tried lifting up one of his legs, but finding it pointless, set down on the floor "Vin have two feet…mmm…ten toes!" she cried happily, cleverly and quickly taking one of his strange shiny shoes off and fiddled with his foot. She found there to be a strange black cloth covering it and pulled it off, in doing so, revealed five toes. She grinned up at him "Vin's toes!" she laughed as she played with them, at this point, Tifa couldn't hold it in any longer. She laughed watching as Vincent's fingers twitched slightly, before walking over with a slight grin on her face.

"Hm…is our big tough Vincent…ticklish…?" he gave her a look saying 'don't you dare' but she did anyway. "Here Angel, why don't I help you?" she said kindly, sitting down next to her, removing his other 'shoe' and 'sock', allowing Angel complete view of the remaining _untouched_ five toes.

"Ten toes!" she cried out with glee and started to tickle, fiddle, mess, and play, with all 10 toes. Tifa tried her hardest to contain herself as she watched Vincent's discomfort, that is until Cloud walked through the doors, coming over and sat down on a stool, watching as Angel tormented poor Vincent.

"Heh, she too much for you Vincent?" he asked in a joking tone, though causing Angel to turn her attention toward him instead.

"Loud! Loud!" she yelled excitedly and ran over to him smiling.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My name is **not** Loud, it's **C**loud" he said, emphasizing on the C in his name.

"Eyes, ears, mouth. Vin have two eyes…two ears…mouth" she then got a grin on her face. "Loud have two ears…two eyes…mouth" she giggled as she grabbed Cloud's ears, pulling on them a little.

"Hey! Those are attached you know!" he yelled as Tifa laughed at him, along with Marlene.

"Heh, is she too much for you _Loud_?" Vincent asked, smirking at Cloud's dismay, watching as he blushed slightly. You see, for the last 3 months, Marlene has been teaching her to talk a little bit, along with helping her to understand a bit more of what people were saying. Angel had also grown close to Marlene, they had basically become like sisters. She had also started to grow on Cloud, though, the one that she was most attached to, was Vincent. She loved being with him, even if it was just sitting there beside him, she didn't care, as long as he was there she was perfectly fine.

Back to the story~ Cloud glared at Vincent's comment as he turned toward Angel and yelled, smacking her hands away. "Would you stop it and grow up!? Man, you're older than Marlene and yet she acts more mature than you do!" Angel stopped immediately, eyes filling with tears as she stepped back.

"Cloud! What is wrong with you!?" Tifa yelled at him, hitting him in the head.

"OW!!!" Vincent just looked at Angel, watching her sad face as she then turned and ran out the front door.

"Angel" he called, though she didn't hear him as she ran into the night. She had no clue where she was going, all she knew was that she wanted to get away from there, along with all the yelling. She ran into an alley as she fell and crawled toward the wall and cried, crying those crystal tears of hers.

"Now see brother's, what did I tell you? I told you that I had a good feeling about tonight" a voice came, it belonged to a young man with silver hair that reached down to slightly above the shoulders, he also had glowing cat like eyes as well.

"Yes brother, we remember what you said. Look at her laying there, she is crying" came another voice, a slightly strange tone residing within it, as it came from a young man with long silver hair, that flowed down his back.

"Yeah, somebody made sister cry" the last voice coming from another young man, this one had short silver hair and looked fairly buff as he trotted toward Angel. Angel scooted away, backing up against the wall behind her in a scared manner.

"You seem to be scaring her Loz" the one with semi-short hair said, as he then walked toward her, kneeling down in front of her. He was about to reach out and touch her, when a whirl of slightly tattered red surrounded her, causing him to back away as it took her and quickly disappeared above the buildings. A growl was emitted as the semi-short haired man looked at the place that Angel had just been.

"Now, what were you saying about having a good feeling about tonight Kadaj?" the once with long hair asked, mocking Kadaj.

"Shut up!" he growled though he soon stopped upon seeing something shinning on the ground. He picked them up, and held them close to his face, as a grin slowly spread across his face. "Well, would you look at this brother's, it appears that sister is even more special than we thought" he said, showing the tear shaped crystals to them.

"Is this…"

"Yes Yazoo…materia…" Kadaj said, his voice changing slightly as he said this.

Vincent landed in Angel's room, setting her down gently on the bed "Are you alright? They didn't do anything to you did they?" he asked her, concern and worry held in his voice.

"They called Angel…" he sighed.

"What have I said about that, we use _me_ or _I_, remember?" she nodded her head and corrected herself.

"They called _me_ sister…why?" she asked, looking up into Vincent's eyes with curiosity.

"I…don't know…" he knew that it was a lie though, but he didn't really know how to tell her and actually make her understand.

"Vin…cent…" she spoke, causing him to turn his gaze toward her, with the slightest curve on his lip, though that would fall as he saw another tear rolled down her cheek. He knelt down, opening his arm, knowing that she wanted to run to him, and she did, just as he had suspected. "Thank you" she said, gently kissing him on the cheek, Vincent froze at this, not being able to remember the last time that he had felt something like that, he chuckled slightly, turning to Angel as he picked her up.

"I think that it is time for you to get some sleep my friend" he tucked her into bed and left "Good night, Vin…cent…" with that, she fell asleep, not knowing what the morning would bring her.

**Later that night**

Everything was quiet in the streets of Midgar. You could hear a pin drop with how quiet it was though nothing lasts. The sound of light footsteps could be heard above in one of the rooms, along with the crack of a door. A figure lay in bed asleep as someone walked toward them, stopping at the edge of the bed. The bed shifted due to the new weight of the person crawling onto the bed next to the sleeping figure. Moments later, the figure shifted, waking from their slumber, finding someone next to them, clinging to their arm. They opened their eyes, revealing two deep red orbs, staring at the person beside them. "Mmm…Angel…?" is was Vincent, his voice deep and tired as he questioned the female beside him. "Angel?" he waited for a response, he sighed getting no reply. "Angel…what's wrong?" he asked, lifting her head up to look at him, though when he did, he found tears. He sighed again, though this time turning slightly again and pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her small form, hoping to perhaps calm her. "Calm down…you're fine…I have you, you're safe…" he said, trying to sooth her. After a few minutes, she finally started to quiet down, hiccupping every now and then from crying. "Now…what's wrong?" he asked, attempting to get an answer once again as he looked into her mismatched eyes.

"Mmm…" that was all that she said, though somehow Vincent seemed to understand the problem.

"You had a nightmare…didn't you?" she nodded her head as she continued to cling to him. An evident sigh could be heard from him as he shifted slightly, getting comfortable again before he spoke "Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" he questioned as he looked down at her, watching as she nodded her head. He said nothing as he pulled her up a bit more, pulling the covers over her after as he leaned his back up slightly against the headboard, her head laying on his chest. Sigh. "What am I going to do with you?" she didn't hear him though, as he looked down to find her already fast asleep. He shook his head slightly, laying it against the headboard, sleep eventually taking over and plunging him into a world of darkness.


	6. Drawings of a Nightmare

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 6**

**In the Morning**

Vincent lay there awake in bed, still holding Angel in his arms, as he had done earlier that night. It was around 7 or so right now, and he had been laying there awake for about 2 hours now. He sat there going over last nights events in his head, from where she had run off, all the way up to the occurring nightmare that had brought her to his room in the middle of the night. He sat there thinking, until he felt her start to shake slightly, her body turning a bit in his arms. Sensing that something wasn't right, he attempted to wake her, anything to rescue her from this 'thing'. "Angel…Angel wake up……" no response "Wake up Angel…wake up…Angel…" his voice rose slightly as he tried to wake her, worry beginning to raise within him as he shook her a bit. Then, the next thing he knew, she was on the floor with a loud THUD. The reason why, was because she had jolted awake so quickly that she literally fell back off of the bed and onto the floor.

"Mmm…" she groaned as she lay there on the floor holding her head, the dream still fresh in her mind, not wanting to leave. Vincent got off of his bed and knelt down beside her, checking to make sure that she was alright.

"Angel, are you alright?" the concern, evident in his voice as he laid his hand on her shoulder, quickly switching her attention to him. "Angel, are you…" he didn't finish as her arms quickly found their way around his back, hiding her head in his chest as she cried, leaving him to sit there and try to comfort her. It took her a good ten minutes, until she finally realized that she was no longer in a dream, that she had awakened and was now in Vincent's safely guarded arms. Although, she jumped as his voice reached her, calling out to her in the silence, breaking her from her thoughts. "Are you alright…Angel?" he asked, trying to find some sort of answer. He watched as she seemed to get lost in thought for a moment, before her attention was back on him.

"Mmm…Vin..cent…" was all that she said as she hugged him again, allowing tears to flow from her eyes as she cried.

They sat down stairs at the bar, food in front of them from Tifa, though Angel sat quietly, picking at her food the whole time. She seemed to be off in her own little world at the moment, it worried both Vincent and Tifa, since she wasn't happy like she normally was. She didn't even seem to notice when Cloud entered threw the bar doors, making his way over to the three of them. The sound of his footsteps stopping short as he took his place behind Angel. Sigh. "What's wrong this time?" he asked as he stood there leaning slightly over her shoulder. He turned to the others for an answer, waiting to see what was wrong with her.

"Her dream…she had come into my room late last night…the result of a nightmare of sorts…" Vincent's voice sounded next to Angel as his gaze remained on her quiet form, turning them toward Cloud for a brief moment as they returned once more to gazing upon Angel. Cloud stood there puzzled as he took in the information, not really sure what to make of it.

"A nightmare…?" he inquired as he stared quietly at her, becoming lost in thought. The silence was broken as Angel stood from her set, quietly making her way upstairs and into her room, only leaving the sound of a closing door as record of her entrance. "You said…it was just a nightmare…right…?" Cloud's voice was quiet as he asked this question, still stuck in thought, though Vincent's voice seemed to give him slight reassurance.

"Yes…it was just a nightmare…" he said, as he went to follow Angel, closing her door behind him as he entered.

**Upstairs**

Vincent sat watching Angel, sheets of paper in front of her, along with a box of crayons and colored pencils for which belonged to Marlene. He sat there watching, watching as she drew something quietly on the floor, facing away from him as she did so. He just sat there, listening to the sounds of the paper and pencils as they collided, every now and then, scraping on an edge. She just continued sitting there, drawing, page after page of color and shapes. It seemed as though her hand had a mind of its own as it slid across the papers constantly, finally quieting as it uttered to a stop, leaving the room silent once again. Vincent stood from his set, walking forward to examine the pages in front of the girl sitting before him, only to find himself shocked at the results. Angel turned and watched as he came to a stop beside her, kneeling down to examine the sheets in front of her. She too looked down upon them, scanning them, finding them to be that of her dreadful dream. She looked up at Vincent once more, finding a strange look upon his charming face, this causing her to become puzzled.

"Vincent…?" she questioned as he slowly picked up one of the sheets, looking at it closely. She placed a hand upon his own, causing him to turn his gaze toward her in a questioning manner.

"Are these…of your dream…?" his voice deep and soothing as ever, though it held worry in its depths, something for which made Angel unsure of herself, though nodded anyway. His face seemed to falter for a brief moment, going back to normal as soon as it had come. He stood slowly, taking the sheet of paper with him as well.

**Angel's POV**

She watched Vincent leave, the picture in his hand…the picture that 'she' had drawn. She didn't know where it came from, she just drew it one guessed. Then again, it was also apart of her dream. A strange figure standing in flames. Sounds from downstairs brought her back to reality, turning toward the door and standing at the entrance.

**No One's POV**

"What's that?" Cloud asked as Vincent held the piece of paper in his hand, looking down at it for a moment. When Vincent didn't answer, Cloud decided to take a look for himself, what he found though surprised him. "What is that?" he asked, glancing at Vincent, awaiting an answer.

"A picture…" Tifa caught herself laughing lightly when she heard that.

Cloud took the picture from Vincent's grasp, slight shock on his face once he had gotten a better look at it, "…Sephiroth…" All was silent, until Cloud spoke again. "Vincent…she can't stay here, she has to leave as soon as possible" he said, causing Tifa to come forth.

"Cloud, what are you saying? We can't just kick her out you know? I mean, where will she go?" Tifa said in frustration. Cloud turned to look at her.

"Well what else do you expect me to say? Huh? She's already run into trouble once, so who's to say that she won't do it again?" he said, his mind not really thinking straight. "I mean, do you honestly expect me to just allow her to stay here? I mean anything that shows up with Sephiroth means bad news?" he said, frustration clearly showing in his voice.

"Cloud! What's wrong with you?" Tifa asked. What she couldn't understand is how Cloud could even think of kicking her out. I mean, it wasn't her fault, right? It couldn't be.

"I won't let her be alone" Vincent said quietly, only to where Cloud and Tifa could really hear him.

"Then why don't you do it then Vincent? Why don't you get here out of here?" he asked, none of them realizing that their conversation was hitting the ears of another.

**Upstair's with Angel**

She couldn't believe what she had heard. They wanted her gone? That much she could understand of their conversation. Apparently Vincent was apart of it too...how could he? She thought that he was her friend. Yet, he went down there with that picture, and now they wanted her to leave. A few tears fell as she stood there, closing the door quietly, before running to the window. If they didn't want her there any longer, then she sure as heck wasn't going to stay. And so with that, she jumped, landing quietly on the ground unnoticed by the three inside of the bar.


	7. Loz

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 7**

Half the day had been spent walking. She had been out of the city limits for at least a good hour or two now. No doubt they were celebrating her absence... Soon, she found herself staring out at nothingness, nothing but dry soil and weeds. This was not what she had hoped for, then again, she hadn't planned that it would ever come down to her running away from the people that she'd come to love. She felt like crying now, and that's exactly what she did, she cried. She cried quietly as the sun went down, setting on the horizon. It was sad really, in her moment of running away, she didn't even bother to bring food or anything in which to stay warm. That is what she was now regretting as she shook from the cold, her stomach groaning in protest as it had nothing to nurish it currently at the time. She continued to cry softly as she laid herself on the ground, curling up to stay warm, before letting out a few coughs. She wanted to go home, though at this point, she knew that there was no home to go back to. This caused her to cry even more, not noticing the on coming foot steps that approached her. She shivered again, her arms hugging herself helplessly. Soon, three figures presented themselves to her, causing her to quickly retreat and run. She didn't get far though, before slipping and falling from fatigue. She let out a small cry as she hit the ground, some rocks scrapping and cutting at her delicate skin. She curled up into a ball, crying out of fear and pain, not knowing what was to come next. What suprised her though, was the tone in the persons voice that spoke softly to her.

"Come now sister, don't cry? We won't hurt you, we want to help you" the youngest of the three said, quietly kneeling down beside her, placing a hand upon her shoulder. She moved back, scared as she cried, crystal tears falling and hitting the ground making him smile.

"Yazoo?" he called.

"Yes brother?" the one with long silver hair asked.

"Come here" he said, staring down at her shivering form. The bigger of the three also came up along side Yazoo, staring down at her with tears in his own eyes.

"Brother, she's crying" he said with a wavering voice. This caused Angel to look at him through watery eyes, staring at him, before he grabbed ahold of her. At first, she struggled slightly, before she felt something wet on her head. She looked up, tears falling from his eyes onto her face. This caused her eyes to water more as she cried, eventually hugging him. Soon, he hugged her back, holding her close. "It's alright sister, Loz will protect you" he said, hugging her close to him, in return giving her some much needed warmth. Not long after being held by Loz, she fell asleep, no longer able to fight her fatigue.

"So, what did I say?" the youngest of the three asked, grinning slightly.

"Huh?" Loz asked, not really paying any attention except to the young girl laying against him asleep. The boy growled in slight annoyance.

"I told you that it'd be easy to find her, did I not?" he asked.

"Yes, you did Kadaj" Yazoo said, looking over at the girl with slight interest. "She's quite interesting, don't you think brothers?" he asked, picking slightly at the silver strand that was in her hair.

"Yes, she is indeed" Kadaj said, picking up all of the crystal tears that he could find, placing them in a bag. After he found all that he could, he placed them in his back pocket. "Come brothers, we should be on our way, before brother and his friends come looking for us. They'll undoubtedly realize that we have her sooner or later" he said, a malicious look on his face. "Loz, will you carry her?" Kadaj asked.

"Not a problem brother. Sister is safe with me" he said, grinning happily.

"Alright, then lets get going" Kadaj said, starting to walk away towards their awaiting bikes. "Poor girl, hasn't the slightest thought as to what is in store for her..." he said quietly, more to himself. Soon after, they came to their bikes, Loz holding tightly to Angel. "Oh, and Loz?" Kadaj called.

"Yes brother?" he asked, setting Angel on the bike before getting on behind her, letting her rest against him.

"Try not to crush her?" Kadaj said this, more as a statement than a question. Loz just snorted as a result.

"Don't worry brother, I won't crush her. She's our sister after all, I have to take care of her" he said, his voice was that of a loving older brother. This caused Kadaj to laugh.

"Yes, you do that Loz, you just go and do that." With that, they soon rode off, not really caring about much else. Although as they rode, Loz couldn't help, but to notice how small this girl was that sat before him. He had thought that she was small the first time that he had seen her, but now that he was up close and personal, she was actually smaller. He had known that she was their sister, the first time that he had seen hair, the streak of silver in her hair made that obvious. Although, Yazoo had had to take a second look at first in the beginning, but still. Other than their full head of silver hair, Loz had noticed something different about her. Unlike them, she had two different colored eyes. While one was their mako blue green, the other was also gold. Gold, being uncharacteristic of the three brothers or even Cloud in all honesty. It was something completely different. To be honest, he had never really seen anyone with eyes like hers before, but I guess there's a first for everything right?


	8. Chaos

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 8**

By the time that she awoke, Angel found that she was no longer in the plains, but instead inside a large hallow tree. She groaned lightly as she turned, feeling something warm beneath her, she closed her eyes as she snuggled into the warmth. A laugh soon rippled through the warmth, causing her to look up, blinking. It was a man, a very big man with short silver hair. This caused her to stumble back away from him in a scared manner.

"What's wrong sister?" he asked innocently, looking at her as she set in a corner shaking, a few tears slowly falling. She didn't know what to do, but right now, she was scared. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, staring at her, before drawing closer to her. She had her hands on her head in a scared manner. She shivered slightly from the cold. "Are you cold sister?" he asked, before standing at his true hieght, the sound of a zipper unzipping could be heard. Before she knew it, he was holding something out to her, she just looked at him with her head cocked to the side. "Here, take it, you're cold" he said, holding it out to her still. She looked at him as he held the thing out to her, his bare chest showing now that he wore nothing on his front. He sighed, before walking toward her, placing it on her shoulders as he began to zip it up. "There" he said, smiling down at her, this caused to to smile slightly as she looked at him.

"A-Angel..." she said quietly, pointing to herself. He looked at her for a moment.

"Angel, that's your name?" he asked her, watching as she nodded in response. He smiled, before pointing to himself. "Loz" She smiled at him.

"L-Los?" she said, attempting to say his name. He chuckled as a result, seeing as she had a hard time speaking properly. He didn't mind though.

"Eh, close enough" he said, before pulling her into a hug, he noticed that she stiffened slightly. Soon, she loosened up though, making him smile. "Ah, see? Much better" he said, grinning at her.

"L-Los" she said, hugging him back, feeling the warmth of his chest on her cheek. She smiled, curling up against him for warmth, his jacket helping her even more. He grinned happily, holding her close.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you sister. From now on, no one is gonna make you cry" he said, breathing into her hair. Soon after, he took notice to the mark on her arm, grabbing hold of it and looking at it. "What's this?" he asked curiously, moving it every which way. She stared at it, not knowing what to do, all she knew was that it had once caused her serious trouble. She shook her head at him a few times, signifying that she didn't know what it was. "You don't know what it is?" he asked. She shook her head no. He gave a slight nod before letting go of her arm, his eyes shifting to her bright white wings. "They're white..." he said quietly. "His was black...why are yours white?" he questioned, but got no answer from her, she knew not of what he was talking about. "Hm, you don't talk much do you?" he asked, making her look up at him, shaking her head no. She only understood part of it though, but the talking part she knew was a no.

"Los?" she said, looking up at him with sad eyes. "Loud...Vin...cent?" she looked as though she were about ready to cry.

"Loud? Brother?" he asked, she nodded. "Vincent? Big Red?" she nodded again, signifying his attire as red. At the thought of Vincent, tears started to fall.

"Vincent..." she sniffled and cried on Loz, though his chest never met the wettness of her tears, merely the smoothness of crystal. He knew that Kadaj would pick them up later, so he didn't bother with them.

"Why do you cry sister?" he asked, slight sadness in his voice as he looked at her.

"Vin..Vin..." she looked up at him through watery eyes, a hint of longing in them. It was evident that she missed Vincent. She had always been around him, so it was never an issue, but now...now he wasn't there to hold her and talk with her like she liked. Why had she run away? She wouldn't never understand it. "Vin Vin..." she cried once more with a sorrowful tone to her voice. "Angel...miss Vincent. I miss..Vincent" she said, correcting herself as he had had her do before, smiling lightly to herself as she did. This only caused her to cry more though.

"Hey, hey! Don't cry" Loz pleaded, trying to calm her down, but to no avail. Just then, Yazoo walked into where they were at, staring at them strangely.

"Why is she crying Loz?" Yazoo asked, staring at the two of them.

"I don't know, she just said something about that red guy, Vincent and then she started crying. I think she misses him Yazoo" he said, trying to comfort her the best that he could.

"Ha. _Her_ miss _**him**_? He's probably the reason she was out here to begin with" he said, smirking at them. Angel just looked at him, glaring slightly, though she didn't know why.

Else where, Vincent was searching for the young girl with wings that he'd become so accustomed to. It was strange really, the effect that she'd had on him. In fact, he was perplexed really, not sure what to do when he'd found that she was missing. Though he was pretty sure that she'd heard part of their conversation, and that was why she had runaway. After all, if one is no longer welcome, then why would they stay? The answer is, they wouldn't. It was as simple as that, though he didn't like thinking of it like that, it _was_ true. "Angel, where are you" he asked himself quietly. He had also come to terms with the fact that Kadaj and his brothers had her in their hold. After all, they seemed to have taken quite an interest in her the last time in which they had seen her. He figured that this time would be no different than the last.

About half a hour later, his ears heard the sound of his name. "Vin Vin" someone had called. Angel. That was the only one to ever call him Vin Vin and actually get away with it. He waited for a few minutes, watching as one of the brothers went into a large hallowed out tree.

"Ha. _Her_ miss **_him_**? He's probably the reason she was out here to begin with" he heard Yazoo say. He could tell that he was smirking by the tone that was in his voice.

"Angel want Vin Vin" she called out. That was it, he had to go now, she needed him now more so than ever.

"I'm coming Angel" he said quietly, before swooping down and landing on the ground in front of the hallowed tree. Angel must have seen him because she called out to him.

"Vin Vin!?" she cried with glee as she ran forward, only to be stopped by Yazoo.

"No" he said, glaring at Vincent. Angel tried to get passed Yazoo, but he wouldn't let her, keeping an arm out to contain her.

"Vin Vin!" she cried out again, helplessly. At the sound of her cry, Vincent felt his heart sink. He knew that he had to get her out of there before any harm came to her, otherwise, he'd never forgive himself.

"Ah, so nice of you to join us" Kadaj said, walking up beside Yazoo, quickly taking hold of Angel's shoulder and squeezing it. Vincent watched as she winced from the pressure.

"Los?" she cried out meekly to the biggest of the three brothers, watching as he came forward, picking her up. That was also when Vincent noticed the males lack of shirt, his eyes traveling to Angel, the jacket resting upon her small torso. This, he found to be of slight interest, though he brushed it off for the time being. Vincent watched as Loz held her in his arms. If Vincent didn't know any better, he'd say it was as if Loz were acting the role of a protective brother.

"Angel, don't you _like_ standing by me?" Kadaj asked, looking at her as he stepped toward her and Loz. Kadaj sent a look to Loz, causing him to shutter and place Angel down. "Now, be a good girl and come with brother?" he asked, taking her by the hand and walking back over to his original spot, then kneeling down beside her and whispering something in her ear. "Wouldn't you like to see your friend for what he _truly_ is?" he asked, though Vincent still heard it as Angel made no move to answer.

"What are you...?" Vincent murmured, staring at him, his hand clenching slightly.

"You want her?" Kadaj asked, taking a step closer with Angel. "Well, we'll see if the feeling is still mutual after we're done" he said, grinning as his arm glowed with some sort of materia, before shooting it out at Vincent. Angel watched as Vincent went flying back into a tree. It was then that she noticed his paleness was nearly as white as the trees around them.

"Vin Vin!?" she cried out, pulling away from Kadaj and running toward Vincent. She watched as he writhered in pain, biting his tongue as not to scream out in pain, but he let some slip. Angel found herself in tears as she tried to comfort him, having them roll down her face, forming into crystals before they ever even hit the ground. "V-Vin..cent...?" she cried, reaching out to touch his face, but quickly retracting it as it burned her hand. She then watched helplessly as his cloak flared up around him, forming into black and red tattered wings, his screams and yells of pain never yeilding. She saw as his hair flew up, seeming to mesh with his bandana into various points. His golden metal shoes broke up and seemed to shape to his feet a bit more. She could also see his body, still covered in that black _thing_ as she put it. What scared her though, is when he finally turned toward her, those golden eyes staring at her with fangs bared. She began to shake as he stared at her, a growling coming from deep within his throat. She didn't know what to do as she was frozen in her spot, watching as he slowly came toward her, tears falling from her eyes. Loz tried to run forward, but Kadaj stopped him.

"Not yet brother, wait a moment longer" he said, grinning. They watched as _Vincent_ whipped away her tears while they were still wet, the warmth tingling in his fingertips. A crystal tear falling and absorbing into his hand. He stopped upon feeling it.

"Vincent?" she asked in a scared quiet voice, staring up at him with uncertainty.

"Now!" Kadaj yelled, letting Loz run forward in an attempt to attack. The moment he came forward, Vincent growled, lunging at him, causing Angel to let out a startled yell.

"Los!" she cried out, running toward them, only to be grabbed by Yazoo.

"You're staying right here sister" he said, watching as he pulled out a gun with some sort of blade on it, her eyes going wide with fear. She watched as he aimed it at Vincent, shooting a round off and hitting him in the back.

"No!" she cried out, fighting Yazoo as he tried to go for a second shot, but she wouldn't let him. Quickly, she bit down on his arm, causing him to yell in pain. She made a last minute effort toward Vincent, Yazoo aiming his gun for his heart, three bullets firing. It was almost as if it were in slow motion as Angel got to Vincent, wrapping her arms around the front of him, only to have the bullets go through her back. One hit Vincent in the shoulder, but the other two found their way to Angel. One embedding itself in her right shoulder just above her wing, the other piercing the softness of her lung.

"Sister!" Loz cried as he watched her fall against Vincent, a bit of blood in her mouth as she struggled to breathe. Tears fell down her face, absorbing into Vincent's dark heart, warming it and helping him fight.

"Angel?" his voice soon broke free as he held her. "Angel?" he asked again, looking down at her, emotion lacing his eyes.

"Vin...Vin...cent?" she cried, gasping lightly, coughing up a bit of blood. He looked down at her, his brows furrowing a bit as he saw the blood. Granted, he couldn't truly die, but if those rounds had truly hit their original target then he might be dead right now. She had saved him, and for that deed, she was now slowly dying. He knew that he had to get her out of there and quickly, otherwise, she would surely perish.

So quickly, he picked her up in his arms, allowing her to rest her head against the side of his chest. He quickly lept forward into the trees, his cloak a swirl of red.

It didn't take too long for him to get back to the bar, maybe 15 minutes as he pushed and pushed himself forward, forward toward help hopefully. As soon as he got there, he burst through the doors, startling Tifa and the others. "Vincent, what's going on?" Tifa asked as she looked at him, quickly noticing Angel in his arms. "Oh no, what happened?" she asked, running toward them, her hand on Angel's left shoulder.

"This is what happens when one runs away...when one trys to do good without thinking in advance..." he said quietly, looking down at Angel's pale face. She could no longer retain the color in her face as her gasps became more frequent and obvious.

"Vincent, she's bleeding" Tifa exclaimed, pointing out to Vincent, something for which he already knew. Cloud got up, quickly running out the door. "Cloud, where are you going!?" she yelled as she watched him mount his motorcycle.

"To get the materia!" he yelled, before speeding off toward Midgar and the old church where he kept the materia hidden. Mean while, Tifa looked down at Angel, who grew paler by the minute. She couldn't even seem to get a whole breath in properly.

"Vincent, what _exactly_ happened?" she asked, looking up at the tall man garbed in red. He sighed, his eyes never leaving Angel's face.

"Kadaj...his power...I don't know what it was, but he managed to bring out Chaos" he said, making Tifa gasp.

"This isn't Chaos' doing is it?" she asked, looking at him fearfully.

"No...this was not my doing...or his. It was Yazoo." Tifa looked at him for a moment, before turning her eyes toward Angel. "While in Chaos form...he shot me...Angel did not approve. Once he attempted a second time, she stopped him...but not before running to me and shielding me from it" he said, his voice laced with sorrow. "She may very well have saved my life" he said.

"Marlene, Denzel, go and get some sheets and pillows, hurry" Tifa said, turning toward the children. Quickly, they ran up the steps, the sound of doors opening. Moments later, they came running back down the stairs, sheets and pillows in their hands.

"Here Tifa" Denzel said, carrying most of the sheets and pillows in his arms, Marlene stumbling with the large balled up sheet in her small arms.

"Thank you Denzel, Marlene" she said, taking the sheets and laying them out on the bars floor along with the pillows. "Here, lay her down here Vincent" she said, motioning to the floor. He did as she asked, laying her down carefully, her eyes scrunching together in pain.

"How long will it take him?" Vincent asked.

"You mean Cloud?" Vincent nodded in question. "Well, at the way that he's speeding, it shouldn't take him very long" she said.

"She doesn't have very long Tifa. Her right lung has been pierced" he told her, staring down at Angel as he knelt by her side, holding her hand in his right one. "Angel..." he whispered quietly to himself, Tifa managed to hear it though and it made her smile. It was so rare seeing her friend care for someone like this. He was the quiet type, they all knew that, but not all of them knew his story. Heck, even she didn't know the entire truth of it all. Though she did know, that he had been heartbroken over a girl named Lucrecia. He had that same look in his eyes, the same look that he had had so long ago. She remembered the time that she had found him lounging in the Forgotten City, though she had only been there once, she still found him there. Though he would never let it show in front of others, he had been love sick and lost. It was a strange thing to see, especially for him, but he was still a man like any other. Even they were entitled to feelings.

"Vincent..." she said hesitantly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, he tensed at her touch, but glanced up at her for a moment. "You..love her don't you?" she asked quietly.

"..." he said nothing, but continued looking down at Angel's fading presence. He would never admit to what she had just said, not to her, not to Cloud, not to Angel, and certainly not to himself. He had never found forgiveness in Lucrecia, so how could he find it now with Angel, especially after what had happened. This was his thinking, this is what he thought, that is what went through his mind. He remembered when Cloud had asked him 'are sins ever forgiven', his answer was that he had never tried, but he told himself that if she servived, then maybe he would try. Maybe, just maybe, he would make a chance effort. Tifa smile slightly.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone" she told him, smiling as she laughed slightly. Suddenly, Cloud burst through the door, a materia in his hand.

"Tifa, get the rod" he said quickly, kneeling down next to Vincent beside Angel. Tifa quickly ran upstairs, minutes later coming back down with a wooden rod in her hands. Cloud nodded, taking it from her as he placed the materia into it's slot in the rod. He placed his hand on it, Tifa doing the same as it soon began to light up with energy. Moments later, the wounds started to heal, the bullets being pushed out as the wounds closed. They all watched as color slowly returned to her face, and her breathing slowly going back to normal again. She was back.


	9. C Loud

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 9**

A few days later, Angel woke up, sore as ever. A few days ago, it had been a scare attempt gone wrong, which nearly ended her life. As she sat up, the first thing she saw, put a smile on her face. There, in the corner with the shadows was Vincent, how she missed him. So quietly, she got up, sliding her legs over the side of the bed and onto the floor. She just slightly at first from the coolness of the floor, but stood up anyway. This was her chance, her chance to surprise Vincent, this is what she would have thought in her head, had she known the proper words.

After a few more steps, she stood in front of the tall man in the chair, his head bowed forward slightly in sleep. She rarely ever saw him asleep, so now as she stood there looking at him, she smiled. Quietly, she climbed up onto the chair, sitting in his lap as he continued to sleep shifting lightly. She smiled to herself, before wrapping her small arms around his strong torso, laying her head on his chest as she hugged him.

Almost as if sensing this, Vincent woke up. His body stiffened for a moment, before going back to normal. He still wasn't completely used to this. Though, there she was, clear as day. She was there, sitting upon his lap with a smile on her gentle face, arms around his torso. He smiled a ghost of a smile as she looked up at him with those mismatched eyes of hers.

"Vincent" she said smiling. That was the very first time that she had ever said his name properly without hesitation or stuttering. It made him smile on the inside.

"Yes" he said while nodding his head. Soon, he found himself placing his own arms around her as well, pulling her closer to him as he whispered in her ear. "I'm glad that you're ok. I was afraid that I'd lose you…" he whispered quietly. She looked up at him, thinking for a moment as she pulled her arms from around his torso and placed them around his neck. He visibly stiffened, but it didn't seem to matter to Angel as she hugged his neck, her body starting to shake slightly.

"Vin Vin…" she murmured quietly, her face buried in his neck, the warmth of still wet tears soaking into the skin of his neck. That was the first time that he had ever felt her tears, the tears that came before the crystals.

"Angel?" he called her name quietly as he moved to pull her away a bit, looking into her eyes. He stared into her eyes for a few moments, before pressing his lips to her forehead. Cool met warm as his lips made contact with her forehead. Her skin was slightly hot, allowing the coolness of his lips to sooth it a bit. She closed her eyes as he did this, enjoying his presence greatly. She whined faintly when he pulled away, causing him to look down at her strangely. "Did you like that?" he asked, a curious look in his eyes. She nodded, looking up at him, finding a VERY small smile on his face. As a result, he placed his clothed forehead against hers, stroking her cheek softly with his right hand. "Let's get you something to eat my friend" he said, standing up with her in his arms, carrying her out of the room and downstairs.

"Angel!" Marlene exclaimed, running toward her and Vincent. She smiled upon seeing her friend, watching as Vincent placed her on a nearby stool, sitting down beside her. Marlene hugged her, jumping into her lap. This caused Angel to laugh.

"Mar...lene" Angel said, smiling at her, wrapping her wings around them playfully. Marlene laughed as Angel did this, smiling the whole time. Angel never noticed the look of contentment in Vincent's eyes as she played with Marlene, if she had though, she would have smiled at him. After a few minutes, Cloud walked in. Angel smiled at him, even after what he had said a few days ago, she was glad to be back.

Carefully, she placed Marlene down, running over to Cloud with a smile and her face. "Loud!" she said, smiling at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's" he never finished.

"Cloud?" she asked, finishing his statement. He stood there, awe struck...or would it be dumb struck? He blinked, not sure what to do as everyone burst into laughter, except Vincent of course. Vincent didn't laugh really, but his voice did come out in a faint chuckle.

"What were you saying Cloud?" Tifa asked him, smiling as she tried to keep from laughing further.

"Um...I..." he paused for a moment. "Nevermind" Angel just smiled at him, before hugging him. At that very moment, he went ridged, this caused Tifa to elbow him. "Huh?" he blinked, before bending down and returning the hug. After that, Angel was beaming with joy.

"You know what guys, I think that next week, we should all go down to Coast De Sol. What do you think?" Tifa asked, smiling at everyone.

"Me too? Me too?" Marlene asked, jumping up and down happily.

"Yes, you too Marlene. In fact, why don't we invite some of the gang?" she asked.

"Wait...but what about Angel, Tifa?" Marlene asked curiously.

"What do you mean Marlene?" Tifa asked slightly confused. Marlene went over to Angel, pulling open her wings a bit.

"Her wings, won't people notice?" she asked, then Tifa smiled.

"Don't worry Marlene, we'll be the only ones there. Besides, I'm sure if there's any trouble, Vincent and Cloud will handle it. Right guys?" she asked, looking at Vincent and Cloud.

"Right" Cloud said. Vincent merely nodded. This cause Marlene to smile as she hugged Angel.

"You get to come too Angel" she said, smiling up at her.

"Yes, but first we have to find her a bathing suit. Actually, why don't you come with us Vincent?" Tifa asked, looking over at him. "I'm sure that she'd feel better if you came? And it'd be safer for her too" Tifa told him, waiting for a response. He just gave a small nod of surrender, his eyes landing on Angel as he did so. She just seemed to smile at him, but it made him smile on the inside.

"Come on Angel, let's go" Marlene said, tugging on her arm lightly.

"Marlene, wait, we don't have a jacket for her" Tifa said, quickly looking at Vincent, who gave a quick nod.

"Angel" he said, opening his cloak up for her, allowing her to run to him and hide beneath it. Now she would be safe from prying eyes.

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Please review? Please? And if anyone has any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them, cuz I'm running out of them currently. I give special thanks to ZakuReno. She's been the only one to give me a review and boost my confidence. Thanks Zaku. :)


	10. Hello Kiku

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 10**

As they left the bar, Angel stayed right beside Vincent holding onto his hand. She stayed hidden inside his cloak quite easily, considering her small size. For now, this would just have to suffice until they could find and get her a proper jacket.

"Tifa, there's a store" Marlene called out, pointing to a store a little ways down the street.

"Yes, that's a good one" Tifa said. And so, they all walked down to the clothing store.

"Tifa, look at this one" Marlene said, running forward, holding a nice black and silver two piece. "See? I think it would look good on her." Tifa nodded, agreeing with Marlene.

"Yes, I like it too Marlene. Let's find a few more first" Tifa said. "Vincent, why don't you find something for yourself? Take Angel with you too" she said. He merely nodded quietly, walking off to a different section of the store.

"I don't see why she wants you with me for this" he said quietly "Then again, I can't exactly leave you either, can I?" he asked, smiling faintly down at Angel. Granted, she didn't understand everything that he said, but she understood most of it. She smiled at him, hugging him as she nodded. He chuckled at this.

"Vin Vin" she called, holding something up. He looked down at her, seeing a pair of red and black swim trunks in her hands. He smiled on the inside. She definitely knew his color, that was for sure. He gave her a nod, saying that he approved of her choice. He watched as she went and grabbed two more. One pair, was blue and yellow. For Cloud, he thought to himself. The other, were actually black with red hibiscus flowers running up both sides of the legs. She put the second pair in front of herself, looking down at them, before looking up at him for approval. "Vin Vin?" she asked, looking up at him with pleading eyes. This made him laugh to himself. He thought that it was cute though, so he nodded. She let out a squeal of happiness and hugged him.

"Come, let's get back to Tifa now" he said, making sure that his cloak kept her covered. "Tifa" he said, walking forward with Angel.

"Ah, there you guys are. Hm, what's that?" she asked, referring to what was in Angel's hands. Angel held them up, all three of them.

"Vin Vin" she said, holding up the black and red swim trunks, showing that those were Vincent's. She then held up the blue and yellow ones. "Loud" she said. Then finally, she held up the one's for her. "Angel" she said, smiling at Tifa. Tifa smiled back at her, looking down at the pair that she had picked.

"Black with red hibiscus flowers?" she asked "Interesting" Tifa thought to herself for a moment, before searching through a rack of nearby swim suits. "Aha! Found it" she said, pulling out a two piece that had the same design and color of the swim trunks in Angel's hands. "And look, it's your size too" Tifa said, smiling. "Ok guys, are we ready to go?" she asked. Everyone nodded.

After they were done paying for their stuff, they left the shop and started walking back down the street. A little ways down, Angel saw something that caught her eye. She tugged on Vincent's hand, causing him to look down as she pointed to something. It was a little stand on the side of the road, lined with all sorts of trinkets. "What? Do you see something that you want?" he asked her. She nodded excitedly, pulling him toward the stand while still staying under his cloak the whole time.

"Vin Vin" she said, pointing to a box on the ground. The sound of meowing could be heard. He knelt down with her, examining the box, finding that it was filled with kittens. He watched as she smiled, looking at all of them. There was one in particular that caught her eye though. It was a little black kitten with mismatched eyes, exactly like hers, except switched. Upon picking him up, she noticed that his little tail was broken. She stared at the small feline with a sad look, looking back up at Vincent with pleading eyes.

"Is that the one you want?" he asked. She nodded, looking back down at the kitten that she held in her arms. They stood back up. "Ok" he said, wrapping his arm around her. "How much for the cat?" he asked the man that owned the stand. The mans eyes came over, looking at Angel holding the kitten.

"You want that one?" he asked curiously. Angel nodded. "Are you sure you don't want a different one little lady?" she nodded again. He smiled faintly, looking at the girls eyes then back down at the little black kitten resting in her arms. Their eyes matched, they were meant to be together, he thought to himself. "How about I just let you have the little guy?" he asked smiling at her "If you hadn't come along to get him, I don't think he ever would have found a home" he said.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate it" Vincent said, looking down at Angel who had a big grin on her face.

"Here" the man said, coming around the stand with something and handing it to them.

It was a small bag, containing some kitten food, treats, and a couple toys.

"Take this too" he said, handing them a little blue collar. Angel smiled.

"Thank you" she said. Vincent nodded as well.

"Yes, thank you sir" The man nodded to him.

"Take good care of the little guy" he said, watching as they walked off, Angel's happiness clear as day upon her.

"Tifa!" Angel yelled, running with Vincent to catch up with them. Tifa turned around.

"What is it Angel?" she asked, looking at her. Angel moved Vincent's cloak away slightly, revealing the kitten in her hands. "Awe, it's so cute. What are you going to name it Angel?" she asked. Angel thought for a moment, before looking up at Vincent, then back down to the little black kitten in her arms.

"Kiku" she said happily, hugging the kitten to her chest.

"Kiku, huh?" Tifa asked, kneeling down in front of it. "Well, aren't you a lucky little thing?" she asked, laughing lightly. "Now, why don't we get back home? Then we can feed him" she said, smiling at Angel. Angel nodded, going back beside Vincent, letting him put his arm back around her, keeping her safe.

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A/N ok, just so everyone knows. The 'i' in Kiku, it sounds like an 'e' like bee. Well, there was chapter 10. I hope everyone enjoyed it and PLEASE review? Please? I really wanna know what everyone thinks. And please, feel free to read my other stories and let me know what you think of those too? Thank you.


	11. A Day at Coast De Sol Part 1

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 11**

A week had passed now. Kiku had quickly made himself comfortable at the bar, loving his new home. He always slept with Angel, but one time when he got looked out, he snuck into Vincent's room and slept with him. Other than that, the days had been spent playing and laughing. Angel loved Kiku and he loved her, in fact, they were letting her take him with her to Coast De Sol today.

"Angel?" Vincent called as he stepped into her room, chuckling lightly as she was laying on the bed, looking under it at Kiku. The little kitten sat there under the bed, batting at her hair that hung down in front of her.

"Vin Vin" Angel said, smiling at him as she waved, still playing with Kiku. She kept lifting her head up and down letting him play with her hair. Vincent walked into the room, walking up to bed, before kneeling down. Angel lifted her head slightly, looking at him as he pressed the tip of his finger to her forehead. She laughed, smiling at him. He smiled faintly, before picking Kiku, and placing him on the bed.

"Time to go Angel" he said. She nodded, picking Kiku up in her arms, running after Vincent as he made his way out of the room. She ran along side him and grabbed his clawed hand, walking with him. He looked down at her with a slightly strange look, before looking ahead of him. She was an odd one at times, that was sure, but Vincent liked having her around.

"Angel, are you ready?" Marlene asked, running up to her. She could hear Kiku meow as she came closer. He liked Marlene, in fact, he liked everyone. Although, there were a few times where it seemed he liked causing trouble for Cloud though, seeing as Kiku had a bad habit of getting into Cloud's stuff. It was funny though, just yesterday, Kiku had gotten stuck in Cloud's shoe.

"Yes Marlene, she's ready" Vincent told her, looking down at Angel. "Right Angel?" he asked. She nodded her head eagerly, a big smile on her face. How he loved seeing her smile.

"Oh yeah, Angel, I have something for you" Marlene said, quickly running up to her room, coming back down a moment later. She had a small side satchel in her hands, it was like a messenger bag, but half the size. "You can put Kiku in it" she said happily, handing it to Angel. Angel smiled at her, looking up at Vincent.

"You guys ready to go?" Tifa asked, standing at the door with Cloud. Everyone nodded.

It had been decided, that Cloud, Tifa, and Marlene would ride on one bike, and Vincent, Angel, and Denzel would ride on another. Granted, Vincent wasn't the expert that Cloud was, but he was sufficient. After awhile, Angel had found Loz's jacket and started using it to cover up her wings, though she still preferred hiding them beneath Vincent's cloak but that was neither here nor there. So as they rode, they rode with each child in the middle, keeping them from falling.

"Hey Vincent, are you almost there?" Denzel yelled, over the roar of the engine. Vincent simply nodded, not sure if the boy saw him or not, but he certainly wasn't going to yell. Kiku, he just set there inside Angel's bag, curled up in his little blanket that she had placed inside it. That was the other thing about Kiku, he loved sleeping with his blanket. It was like a child, the that that little cat dragged the thing around the bar. Even the night that he slept with Vincent, he had dragged that little blanket of his with him by his teeth and into the bed. He was a cute little thing.

Soon, they came upon the coast line of Coast De Sol, the ocean showing itself in the light of the sun, shining brightly all around.

Everyone dismounted their bikes as they pulled up, grabbing their things and walking off. A few members of the gang were already there. Barrett and Yuffie, they set underneath an umbrella or at least Barrett was, Yuffie on the other hand was tanning in the sun. Angel just sat there for a moment, still on the bike as she looked around, Vincent still standing by her side as she did. "Are you ready to go Angel?" he asked, looking down at here from where he stood. She nodded her head, grabbing his hand as he helped her down off of the bike. Now it was time to change.

A few minutes later, everyone had changed and were out on the beach. Vincent in particular. It had actually surprised Cloud and Barrett that he'd agreed to partake in there fun. "Damn, you put me to shame boy" Barrett told Vincent. It was true though as Vincent stood there in nothing. No gauntlet, no metal shoes, no shirt, no pants, not even a bandana. Nothing but a pair of black and red swim trunks that Angel had chosen for him a week ago. Even though he was extremely pale, he looked good again the contrasting sand and rushing waves, his raven hair loose along his back and shoulders.

"Wow, looking good Vincent" Yuffie said, grinning at him before pulling Angel over. "What do you think Angel? Don't you think Vincent looks H . O . T hot?" she asked, laughing. Angel didn't really know what to do as she was put on the spot.

"Yuffie, stop it" Vincent said, seeing Angel's discomfort. Angel walked over to him, hugging him and

hiding her face.

"Well, what about _you_ Vincent?" she asked.

"What about me?" he said, looking at her.

"What do you think about Angel?" she asked, grinning. He just looked at her for a moment, not sure what to really do. Yes, he had to admit that Angel didn't look half bad, in fact that was an understatement. His thing was, he couldn't really say anything without risking embarrassment. "Hey Barrett, what do you think about Angel?" Yuffie asked.

"She's looking good" he said, smiling at them, Marlene sitting by him.

"You look good Angel" Marlene said happily as she played cards with Barrett. Vincent just looked at them and nodded.

"She looks nice" he said, looking down at her. She smiled up at him as he said this.

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Ok, well there's chapter 11. I hope you liked it, and liked having Vincent in nothing but shorts. Lol. Remember, please Review? I need idea's soon to keep going. So remember REVIEW and I thank you for those that do.


	12. A Day at Coast De Sol Part 2

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 12**

She liked hearing that she looked good, out of the few things that she understood, she understood that.

"Angel, doesn't it feel nice, not having to hide your wings?" Tifa asked, smiling at her. She nodded, glancing up at Vincent. Soon she let out a startled yelp, as something ran into her leg. Looking down, she found it to be Kiku. He was meowing at her. She smiled down at him, picking him up in her arms and then holding him out to Vincent.

"Kiku" she said, smiling. She was happy because she had two things that she loved with her, Kiku and Vincent. Soon after, Marlene was dragging Angel toward the water.

"Come on Angel, lets go swimming" she said, dragging Angel along. Vincent wasn't exactly too keen on this though. He knew that Angel probably wouldn't be that happy with it. Although, he set there and watched them closely, waiting to see when he'd be needed. He knew that it would undoubtedly be soon though. Angel could play in the water, but she wouldn't be able to swim. He witnessed that in the river early on.

"Vin Vin?" she called out to him hesitantly as they reached the water. It seemed as though she too remembered the river, it scared her a bit.

"Marlene, wait" Vincent said, walking towards them, closer to the water. He took Angel's hand in his and led her closer to the water, little by little. She jumped a bit as the cool water hit her toes. Vincent chuckled as she did this. "Calm down Angel" he said quietly, causing her to look up at him.

"Vincent?" Marlene called up at him. He knelt down as she came close to his ear, allowing her to whisper something into his ear. A faint smirk was seen on his face once she was done, he nodded as she smiled. Quietly, he picked Angel up, allowing her to look up at him. That's when he quickly ran forward, jumping into the water with her in his arms. She let out a startled squeal as they came back up for air, her clinging to him, her arms around his neck. Everyone else laughed as they looked at them.

"Looks like you're all washed up!" Barrett shouted laughing. Now, Angel was shivering, her wings soaking wet and heavy. Vincent noticed his mistake, quickly getting out of the water, her still in his arms as she clung to him. She was freezing now.

"I'm sorry" Vincent said quietly, laying her down on the warm sand and laying down beside her. At some point, she ended up resting her head against his chest as the warm sun dried them. What they didn't know is that there biggest mistake would be falling asleep like that.

A few hours later, Vincent woke up, finding that he couldn't move. Looking down, he found that both he and Angel had been buried in sand. Although, he had to admit that it was nice and warm, but still. Angel still laid there asleep, although, he could feel that she now laid on top of him with her head against his neck sleeping. He tried to look around, but found it to be quite hard. He heard voices in the distant laughing. It was the gang, they had apparently gone and got something to eat, leaving him and Angel stuck in the sand together. "Why do they do this?" he asked quietly, only to receive a meow. He looked to his side, seeing Kiku. "Kiku?" Meow. He grinned on the inside. Kiku was a smart cat, he could help them out. "Kiku, dig" he said, and the small cat obliged as he started pawing at the sand that was his arm.

15 minutes later, Vincent's entire left side was free, with Kiku working on his right side. Vincent would have just gotten up the way that he was, but knew that Angel was still asleep. He didn't want to wake her. So another 15 minutes later Vincent was completely free, Angel laying on top of him. As Vincent looked down though, he noticed the position that they were in. At this point, if anyone else had walked by, they would have thought that the two of them were lovers. This must have been Cid's doing since he saw some of Cid's stuff sitting off to the side. He'd have to deal with him later though. He sighed quietly as he stared down at her, his arms wrapped around her as she lay against him, his back to the sand and hers to the sky. He smiled on the inside though, he liked having her there like that, laying against him. Undoubtedly though, her back would be burned by days end. Plus, since her wings were still wet when they laid down, sand would be mixed into her feathers terribly. He'd have to take her back over to the water a little later to help clean them out.

"Hey Vincent. I see that you're up and awake now" Cloud said, walking up to them, a bottle of water in his hand. "Here, catch" he said, tossing it to Vincent, who easily caught it with his left hand.

"Thanks" Vincent said quietly, before opening it and drinking some. Once he was done, he closed it and laid it beside him, placing his arm back around Angel.

"You know Vincent…between me and you, I think the two of you look good together" Cloud said quietly, a small smile on his face. Vincent looked at him for a moment, before looking back down at Angel, smiling faintly.

"Cloud…" he began, but didn't finish as Marlene came running up.

"Cloud! Cloud!" Marlene called to him, running up to him with ice cream in her hands. She smiled at him. "Cloud, it's melting!" she exclaimed as some of it ran down her hands. As Marlene did this, Angel shifted on top of Vincent, her leg moving slightly as she stayed in his warm arms sleeping quietly. "Angel sure is sleepy, huh Cloud?" she said, smiling. He nodded.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she" he said, looking at Vincent. "Hey Vincent, did she stay up all night again, playing with that cat of hers?" he asked curiously. Vincent nodded his head, looking at her. "Well, that explains it then. She needs to get some more sleep instead of playing with Kiku all the time." As if on cue, upon hearing his name, Kiku popped up out of the sand in front of Cloud. He jumped a bit, causing him to lose his grip on his ice cream, utterly ending up with it on Kiku's head. The poor kitten meowed, now having vanilla ice cream all over him. Marlene laughed as she looked down at him.

"Kiku" she said, laughing, shaking her head slightly.

"Awe man…there goes my ice cream…" Cloud said, rather dully. Vincent chuckled lightly, causing Angel to open her eyes, yawning.

"Vin Vin?" she asked, looking up at him tiredly as she lay in his arms. Vincent smiled at her with a small smile, pointing over in Kiku's direction. She blinked turning her head in the direction that he was point, no sooner did she do that, she started laughing. Kiku set there with a whole mess of ice cream on top of his head. "Kiku" she said, smiling at him as she set up a bit rolling to Vincent's side. Cloud suddenly tried to grab the little cat, causing him to sprint forward into Angel's arm, the ice cream landing on Vincent's stomach. He sat up a bit, regretting it afterwards as it slid down his shorts, his eyes going a bit wide. Soon after, a small tent rose in Vincent's shorts, Angel looked at it curiously. Out of curiosity, she went and poked it, making it worse. Cloud's face was red as he watched this and Vincent face grew red as well. She went to poke it again, but he stopped her, pulling her close to him as she quickly stood up. She looked up at him.

"D-don't…" he said quietly, before picking her up and walk over to the water. "Lets…get your wings cleaned" he said bringing her to the waters edge and sitting down, the ice cream washing away from his shorts. He sighed with relief upon feeling this, the red from his face fading.

About a hour later, her wings were finally clean as they sat there, just staring at each other. It was strange, how they could just sit there like that. Eventually, Angel was sitting in front of him, her back to his chest as he had his arms around her, watching as the sun set quietly on the horizon. It would soon be time to go and leave back to the bar, but for now, they enjoyed the peace and quietly. Everyone just set there watching as the sun set, the others watching as Angel and Vincent set with one another at the water, against a rock. They looked so happy together. They hadn't seen Vincent like that in a long time, in fact, they had never really _seen_ him truly happy. I guess there's a first time for everything though right?

"Ok everyone, time to go" Cid said, as the last bit of fleeting light left the sky. Once again, Vincent found Angel asleep against him, her chest rising and falling softly. He smiled a bit as he saw this. After thinking about it for a bit, he had decided that she was indeed a beautiful young woman, one for which he truly did like. He was growing to like her more and more as time went by and right now would be no different.

"Time to go, my little one…" he whispered in her ear and he picked her up, walking back up the shore to the others, her body dripping wet. Tifa quickly shook off a towel, handing it to Vincent as he wrapped around her small form, giving a nod in thanks. Quietly, he walked up the hill with her, grabbing their stuff as he walked toward the Shira, Cid's ship. Kiku followed right behind them, meowing. As a result, Marlene picked him up, hugging him. Then, a few minutes later, everyone set off toward the bar. Kiku himself, falling asleep in Marlene's arms, just as Angel had in Vincent's. This was truly a site to see. Luckly, Tifa had taken some pictures of them earlier when they were sleeping and even when the two of them were down at the water, watching the sun. They would make great pictures and she knew that Angel and Vincent would like them, especially Angel. After all, it would be her first ever picture with Vincent, and what a picture it would be. She smiled to herself as she thought about it, quietly walking over to Cloud and resting her head against his shoulder, eventually falling asleep herself.

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Ok everyone, that was chapter 12. I hope everyone liked it cuz I'm not writing any more chapters tonight. Please remember to REVIEW? Please and thank you. Good night.


	13. Attack

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 13**

**One week later**

"Hey Angel, want to go for a ride?" Cloud call up the steps so that she could hear him. She came running out with her jacket in hand, nodding happily. "I'll take that as a yes" he said, more to himself as he walked towards the bars entrance, Angel following behind him. "We'll be back a little later Tifa. We're going to pick up the pictures while we're out" he said, walking out the door with Angel. "Come on" he said, motioning his hand in front of him. She followed him right up to the bike as he handed her a pair of protective glasses. Quickly, she put them on, climbing onto the bike behind him. "Ready?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her as he revved the engine. She nodded her head, smiling at him. With that, they took off, riding down the street.

Angel smiled as the extension on her jacket flared up in the wind. You see, Tifa had made it longer to cover up her wings better. Angel continued to smile as they sped through the dusty plains, her glasses protecting her eyes from the dirt, and keeping her sight clean.

A few minutes past, and Angel's eyes caught something in the distance. She quickly tugged on Cloud's arm slightly, getting his attention.

"What is it?" he yelled over the wind. Angel pointed ahead of them, pointing to the warning that she was issuing. Cloud's brows furrowed in confusion. Suddenly, a large, dark creature appeared out of nowhere, lunging at them. Angel let out a startled cry as Cloud made a sharp turn, trying to avoid the creature. "Hang on!" he yelled, speeding up as more of them started to emerge.

"Cloud!" she cried in fear, clinging to him as he tried his best to dodge the creatures. Suddenly, one of them caught the side of the motorcycle causing it to swerve violently, knocking Angel clean off of it and onto the ground. She let out a painful cry as she hit the ground. Cloud soon followed suit, falling from him bike and landing on the ground. Then, more creatures appeared, quickly coming after Angel.

"Angel!" he shouted, running to her as they all leapt at her, quickly wrapping his arms around her crouched form. All of a sudden, a barrier went up, knocking all of them away. Cloud looked down at her in shock and surprise as the creatures quickly disappeared upon impact. Although, as Cloud looked down at her, she was shaking. She just couldn't stay still as her body seemed to spasm with fear. Cloud looked at his bike with distain, seeing that momentarily, it could no longer be used. He pulled out his phone, opening it as he dialed a number, putting it up to his ear.

"Marlene, go and get Tifa on the phone, ok?" he asked, kneeling there beside Angel. He could hear the sound of running foot steps on the other line.

**Back at the Bar**

"Tifa, Tifa, it's Cloud" Marlene said, running down the stairs with the phone in her hand, before handing it to her.

"Hello?" Tifa asked. "Cloud? What happened…what?…Shadow creepers!? What?…Yeah…I'll inform Vincent…bye" she said, clicking the phone off. Marlene looked up at her curiously.

"What happened? Are Cloud and Angel ok?" she asked worried.

"They'll be fine" Tifa told her, reasurring her "I have to get Vincent"

"I'll get him!" Marlene called happily, running up the stairs and into one of the rooms. Vincent came out a moment later, adjust his cloak.

"What is it?" he asked in his usual monotone voice. Tifa came from around the counter, walking up to him.

"It's Cloud, they were attacked by Shadow Creepers. Apparently, the bike has been damaged to the point that he can't ride it" she told him. He seemed to stiffen slightly after hearing this. Vincent knew that Angel was with him, which caused him to worry. "There's…something else as well" she said, causing Vincent to look at her. "Angel…I don't really know what it is, but something happened" she said, making things even worse for him.

"Then we should get going then…" he said, walking toward the doors and out of the bar. Tifa followed behind him.

"We'll be back in a little while, ok Marlene?" she asked as the little girl came running down the stairs smiling.

"Ok" she said, smiling. "Tell Angel I said hi, okay?" Tifa nodded to her, before closing and locking the doors behind her.

"Hey Vincent, you think you can drive this thing?" Tifa asked him as they came to one of the motorcycles. He nodded to her, quickly mounting it as she got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Vincent never could get used to the feeling of physical contact, though, things with Angel surprised him. He didn't have as much of a problem with as long as it was merely her, and not someone else such as Tifa for example, even if the two were only friends. He preferred having Tifa's arms settled around Cloud instead of himself.

"They're in the dusty plains" Tifa said, before he nodded, taking off at a quick speed. Quickly, they flew down the street and out of the city, making their way to Cloud and Angel. Vincent merely wondered what he would find when they got there, and wondered if Angel was alright. _Angel_ he thought quietly to himself, picking up speed. Right now, he wanted to get to her as fast as humanly possible. Within about 15 minutes, they reached them, their figure being made clear in the distance as Cloud waved his hands in the air. There was something curled up in front of him, it was Angel. That was all that Vincent needed to push the speed even further, coming to an abrupt stop, a couple yards or so in front of them.

"Angel…" Vincent said quietly, dismounting the bike and walking quickly over to her. At the sound of his voice, her eyes flickered open, looking at him as he knelt down in front of her. She smiled up at him, quickly going to hug him, though wincing slightly from her arm.

"Vincent…" she said quietly, just happy that he had come for her. She was content at the moment, no other thought in her mind as of now. Though that changed when he took hold of her arm, tearing away the already torn sleeve, to reveal a nasty cut in which had already started to bruise. She winced again. "Mmm…" she whined as he turned her arm. Although, Vincent soon realized that the cut wasn't really a cut, but in fact a terrible bite mark from one of the Shadow Creepers. This made him wonder though, why would Shadow Creepers be roaming around here? "Vincent" she cried out, her fingers curling. Something else that he noticed, was the fact that the black mark on her arm was also surrounding the bite mark now. The bite mark itself, was black, and it shouldn't have been black.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a roar, black spurting up from the ground as Shadow Creepers came out yet again. Angel clung to Vincent, scared of another attack. One Shadow Creeper in particular, almost seemed to have a mind of its own as it circled. Another one lunged at the two of them. Though Vincent quickly drew his gun Cerberus, shooting the monster, and watching as it disappeared. While Vincent was busy shooting others in front of him, he didn't notice the one behind him as it jumped at them, nearly catching them before being sent back. A shield of some sort had been put up as Angel clung to Vincent. He stared at her. The shield was hers, that's what he had come to realize.

"Angel…" he said quietly, placing his right hand on her back as she clung strongly to his waist. She wouldn't budge at all, not that he really minded though.

Suddenly, another wave was sent out as yet another had tried to attack them. Vincent stared at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe that _she_ was the one protecting him, it was unethical in his mind. Then again, he knew that she was also an experiment of Hojo's, so in a way it made sense.

"Angel?" he called to her, causing her to look up at him, she didn't really know what to do. At the moment, she seemed more like a child than ever. She was scared, and she didn't know what to do or how to solve it. Quietly, he pulled her closer to him, letting her rest her head against his chest. At that moment, she seemed to relax, loosening up. She closed her eyes, curling up in his arms, tired. Yes, she was tired. It seemed as though the shields that she had put up, took a lot of energy out of her, since she wasn't used to using them.

"Vincent" Cloud called, making him look over at him. "We should get going before even more show up" he said. Vincent nodded in agreement.

"Yes…we should" he said, picking Angel up in his arms as they all walked over to the motorcycle.

Cloud was the first one to mount it, followed by Tifa, who wrapped her arms around his waist. Right as Cloud started it up, Vincent jumped on the very back of it, sitting on his toes just about. Quickly, he nodded to Cloud and they were off. Surprisingly enough, Vincent had great balance on the back of the bike, even with Angel in his arm. He never ceased to amazed Tifa with his astounding aerobatics and unearthly balance, then again, this was Vincent we're talking about.

All three of them sat in silence as they rode outside of Midgar, the destroyed city. Currently, they had been heading toward Edge, to the bar. Still, no one said a word and just kept silent. It was an awkward silence though. One in which was a result of Angel's newly discovered power. All three of them had been thinking about it since they had left the dusty plains. Out of all three of them, Vincent was the one that accepted and understood it the most, though he was still worried about her. Cloud, he understood it to a degree, but still couldn't make sense of it. She hadn't summoned any sort of materia, so that made him wonder. Tifa on the other hand, was simply shocked and amazed, she had never expected anything like this. Though, she still viewed Angel the same, it wasn't her fault. In fact, Tifa was proud for her, since she had protected Cloud before reaching them. She'd have to thank her for that one later, later when she was awake. Right now, she would let her rest, instead of bothering her with questions and everything else. She knew that she'd definitely get that later from Cloud, possibly Vincent, but she doubted that one.

They did make one more stop though, before returning to the bar, a stop to pick up the pictures they were supposed to get earlier that day. After that though, they drove away to Seventh Heaven (the bar).


	14. Photos and a First Kiss

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 14**

**Photos and a First Kiss**

Once they got back, Angel was taken to her room by Vincent. He laid her down on her bed, before going and getting a first aid kit. Bandages, that was what she needed, but she wasn't going to like what he had to do. Her cries could be heard from all the way down stairs in the bar as Vincent took care of her arm, using alcohol to clean it. Now that was definitely painful to say the least. It was unavoidable though, since Vincent knew that he couldn't just let it go and get infected or anything, that would be terrible. She had her face down in her pillow as she cried, a pile of crystal tears forming from the immense pain that she was feeling. Vincent hated to see her like this, but it couldn't be helped, he had to do it. He also took the liberty of stitching her arm up as well. She didn't seemto like that very much either.

"Angel, please, calm down?" he asked, stroking the side of her cheek, the one that was visible. She slowly turned her head to look at him with watery eyes, tears sliding down and turning into crystals. He whipped them from her eyes. She sniffled.

"Vincent..." she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. He smiled a bit on the inside as she said his name, he like it when she said it.

"I'm right here" he told her, continuing to her cheek with his right hand. Quietly, she took hold of his left hand, his clawed hand. He looked at her, slightly suprised. Then again, it wasn't the first time that she had favored that hand over his normal one. She laid the side of her face against it, sighing lightly, giving him a small nodded. This told him to continue, so he did. She was happy once he was finally done, since it had taken quite a bit of stitching to close the bite.

She looked up at him, smiling, her eyes still slightly watery as her arm was now sore. "Vincent.." she said his name as she sat up, looking at him. She then brought her arms around his neck, hugging him as she laid her head within the crook of his neck. Vincent froze for a moment, but Angel didn't seem to notice. After he got over it, he slowly brought his arms around her, holding her against him. He felt so right about this, though it was new, it made him feel at ease. Angel, she felt a familiar sense about it. She felt save and calm as though this was how it should be, how it was supposed to be with him, and she liked it. It just felt so normal, so natural, so right. She could really explain why she felt like this, she just did and that all that she truly knew. She knew for sure though, that she liked Vincent, alot. Heck, that was an understatement really, if she knew what the word love ment then she'd be using that word. "Angel...likes Vincent" she said quietly into his neck, though he still heard it. His heart seemed to skip a beat for some reason.

"Vincent...like Angel" he said quietly, a very small smirk on his face as he said this. She looked at him smiling at him. After a few moments, she tooks her finger to his lips, moving it across them lightly with curiousity. She could feel the slight pull of his mouth as he smiled a bit, slowly kissing the tip of her finger, making her face go red. He chuckled softly upon seeing this. On the inside though, he was saying that he loved it. At the moment, he was so tempted to kiss her on the lips as he stroked his finger across her lips, so tempted. He held back though as he brought his face close to hers, her face going even redder with her blush, he just placed his forehead against hers in a quiet bit of contentment. Yes, so very content he was. He then heard a slight giggle at the door, shifting his eyes to find Tifa there, something in one hand and something behind her back. Suddenly, Marlene ran by, taking what ever it was that was behind her back. Tifa then stepped forward.

"Hey, I have the pictures from the beach, I thought that you guys would like to see them" she said, smiling a knowing smile at Vincent, mouthing "I know what you were doing" He simply took the pictures from her, opening the package and taking them out. He glanced over them, allowing Angel to see them as well. A few of them caught his attention though. One of them, was of him and Angel, they were laughing and smiling. This picture was definitely a rare thing to get. Another, was taken when the two of them had first fallen asleep. Along with another after Angel had literally been placed on top of him, their legs tangled together slightly. He felt his face heat up slightly, remember this. He then moved to another one, his eyes going slightly wide as he saw it. In the picture, Angel was laying on top of him, with his hand on her but. He was SO going to kill Cid for this later, since he knew Cid had placed Vincent's hand there when the two were sleeping. He let out a sigh, moving to the next one. He chuckled. It was a picture of Angel freaking out down near the water, her eyes were wide and she had been complaining. He move to the next one, this one made his truly smile. Tifa had taken a picture of them down at the water when the sun was setting. They were against the rock, his arms around Angel as she laid against him contently. He loved this one. She had fallen asleep when watching the sun set with him, this was one that he would definitely put in a frame. He looked through a few more, when Angel finally spoke up.

"Vincent, look, look" she said, smiling at the picture. He could tell that this would be one of her many favorites. It was when he had given her a piggy back ride. Her face was right next to his, smiling happily as they had looked at the camera. She grinned, hugging him as she looked at the picture. "Me and Vincent" she said, looking up at him, he nodded. Little by little, she was starting to use more english and proper english too. He had been teaching her for the past month and it seemed to be paying off. She was slowly growing up, and he had to admit that he would miss some of the childishness. He hoped that she would still retain part of it though, it made life with her fun, and he truly enjoyed it even if he didn't let his friends know that he did. He looked down at her with affection hidden in his eyes as she just continued to smile at the pictures, she didn't even realize how much he truly felt for her, he was almost scared to even try at times. Though, he knew that if he were to ever love anyone, then it would be her. It would be her, his little angel, and no one else. "Vincent?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yes?" he asked, looking back down at her.

"Vincent...likes spending time with Angel? With me?" she asked him, trying to remember the proper words. She looked up at him, curious to his answer. He knew that he could not lie to her, and to be honest, he didn't want to.

"Yes" he said smiling down at her, though it was a small smile "Yes, I like spending time with you. I like it a lot" he said. This made her smile

"A lot, a lot?" she asked. He nodded. She was now grinning from ear to ear as she heard his words. The whole time, Tifa was standing behind the door, peeking every so often. She smiled to herself.

"They're already in love, and they don't even know it yet" she whispered to herself, walking away and down the stairs.

**A Month and One Half Later**

"Vincent, you're back" Angel called, running down the steps, nearly tripping over her own feet as she ran to him. Once she got to him, she through her arms around his neck, nearly knocking over from the force of it. Though, he did spin her around once he caught her, making her laugh. "Don't leave Angel? No leave again like that, no leave?" she asked, hugging his neck affectionatly. He chuckled, even though he had been gone for two weeks, things still didn't change. Granted, her speech was much better compared to a month ago, but should she get excited or something? Oh Lord, her speech would go down the toilet just about. He didn't really mind though, he found it cute. Also, in the month that had pasted, she'd grown up a bit more too. Though, when playing with Kiku, she was still as childish as ever. She loved that cat nearly as much as she loved Vincent, some times he wondered who she loved more, him or Kiku.

"Yes, I'm back" he said, his eyes shining down at her. She smiled up at him, kissing his cheek. The moment that her lips touched his face, his cheeks turned a faint shade of pink, she laughed as she saw this. She smiled at him, placing her hand on his cheek, only to have him bring it to his lips placing a soft kiss on it. Now, it was her turn to blush too, causing him to chuckle softly. Quietly, she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him as she placed her head against his chest. He watched as she did this, smiling on the inside. They stood there like that for a few minutes, before he grabbed her up in his arms, making his way upstairs. She laughed happily as he held her in his arms. Once he got to her room, he tossed her on her bed, causing her to laugh again.

"Vincent!" she exclaimed, laughing. He just smirked at her. For him, she was the only one whom he would show any of his emotions to, the only one whom he would let see his facial expressions change. "Vincent's happy to be back?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Yes, 'Vincent' is _very_ happy to be back" he said, grinning at her. She grinned back as well, before jumping up and tackling him, this caused both of them to fall on the floor laughing. Soon though, the two of them started to wrestle around, of course Vincent kept winning though. Suddenly, she was beneathe him, staring up at him affectionately. He looked at her the very same way, finding himself slowly coming closer to her face. Angel felt herself leaning up slightly as if it were completely natural. Soon, she felt her eyes slowly closing, their lips meeting in a warm kiss. His kiss was filled with passion, though it was so soft, Angel thought that she might melt. She kissed him back lightly, her face tinted pink, just as his was. His lips were just so warm, she could have melted into him at that very moment. She looked up at him as he slowly started to pull away, but she held onto him.

"Vin..cent..." she said quietly, a small smile on her face. She placed her hand on the back of his head, leaning up, and kissing him lightly. Soon, he found himself kissing back to their second kiss. They couldn't believe it as they laid there together on the floor. Never in Vincent's wild imagination, had he thought that he would end up kissing her, at least not in this point in time. Something had come over him though, making him feel as though he could give into that urge of his, give into it and kiss the one person that he was growing to love so much. He was suprised though at Angel's reaction, he hadn't expected her to kiss back or to even pull him in for a second kiss for that matter. She was definitely growing up, that was for sure.

Slowly, they pulled away, leaving themselves to process what had just taken place. Angel in particular, was just amazed to say the least. She wasn't completely sure of the significance of it all. Once moment they were playing, and the next, they were kissing. She didn't even understand her own reaction to it, but for some reason, it felt natural to her. It was like something was telling her that it was okay, that it was the right thing to do, and so she did it. She felt herself blush though, thinking of how she had pulled his head back down to hers the second time. Although, neither of them knew that they would have a new picture waiting for them later.


	15. Love Birds?

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 15**

A week later the two could be found downstairs in the bar, eating together, side by side. Tifa coming up beside them, placing her hands on their shoulders. "So…how are the two love birds doing today?" she asked. Vincent nearly choked on his food as a result, his face turning red.

"Love…birds?" Angel asked curiously. Tifa nodded, before pulling out a picture. Both Vincent and Angel's eyes went wide. It was a picture of the two of them, kissing no less. Angel slowly put her head down in her arms, her face beet red. Vincent sat there gapping at the picture.

"T-Tifa…you…didn't?" he swallowed. Cloud came up behind him as Vincent held the picture in his hands, staring at it.

"Wow…Vincent…you and Angel?" he asked, blinking while trying not to laugh. He was shocked. He honestly didn't think that Vincent had it in him. He was happy for him though. He was finally starting to loosen up and actually live life for once.

"Tifa…what is…love birds?" Angel asked again. Vincent watched in utter horror as Tifa grabbed her and drug her out of the room. He put his head in his hands after that, waiting for Cloud to question him.

"So…" Cloud started, watching Vincent closely. "You finally decided to loosen up then?" he asked, making Vincent look at him.

"Loosen…up?" he asked. Cloud nodded.

"Yeah, instead of mopping around after what's her name?"

"Lucrecia…" Vincent said in a monotone voice.

"Yeah, her. I'm happy for you though…really" Cloud said, giving one of his rare smiles. Vincent gave a faint nod. "So…do you love her?" Cloud asked, looking at him. Vincent seemed to sit there and think for a moment. "I mean…the way you act with her…she's been changing you little by little. I can see it as it happens" he told him. Vincent just stared down at his glass, his reflection shining back in the liquid. Quietly, he stole a glance at Cloud, finding that he was still looking at him. He sighed.

"I suppose…I do…there's really no point in denying it…" Vincent said quietly. A few minutes later, Angel walked back out, her face completely red. Vincent looked at her with worry as she slowly walked over to him, hugging him around the waist, and burying her face against him.

"Hey, come back!" Tifa called from the other room, running in. Angel stood there shaking her head back and forth rapidly, scared to go anywhere near the dark haired woman. Cloud blinked.

"Tifa…what did you tell her?" Cloud asked, almost afraid of her response.

"Oh, nothing really, just a few things about guys. You know, the normal stuff" she said, smiling. Both Vincent and Cloud's eyes widened, realizing a few things that Tifa must have said. A girls face doesn't go THAT red for nothing.

"Oh man…" Cloud whispered. "Vincent…you might want to take her out of here for now, before she has a heart attack from Tifa" he whispered quietly to Vincent. Vincent nodded, before picking up Angel and walking out of the bar with her. Once they were at a safe distance, and on the outskirts of Edge, Vincent sat her down.

"Angel…what…what did Tifa say to you?" he asked, looking at her. She just shook her head no, not wanting to say anything. Vincent knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Tell me what she told you" he said. Angel's face went even redder than before. She swallowed nervously.

"T-Tifa…say different things…" she spoke, trying not to look at him, but Vincent took hold of her face gently as he made her look at him. "Tifa…explain…romance…" that's all she would say, her face now as red as a cherry. Vincent…well, let's just say it was like a deer in the headlights. Lord, Tifa may have officially scarred Angel for life.

"R-romance…?" Vincent managed to choke out. Angel nodded hesitantly.

"Kissing…touching…r-romance" Angel stuttered. Lord have mercy, she really had scarred poor Angel. Vincent sighed, pulling her to him and hugging her, holding her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, making herself comfortable. She liked being in his arms, it made her feel safe and calm. For a good long while, they sat there in the calm of the night, just resting in each others arms. For Angel, this was a dream come true as it always was, she really did like Vincent.

"Angel?" he called quietly, making her turn to face him. It was then that he leaned down, their lips colliding in a passionate, warm, loving kiss. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. Their kiss didn't last very long though because before they knew it, gunfire could be heard, causing Angel to jump.

"Vin Vin…" she whimpered, holding tightly to him. Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her, standing up slowly as he looked around, scanning the area. Suddenly, Angel started shaking, her breath becoming uneven.

"Angel?" Vincent's voice echoed in her mind, but didn't register to her. She just kept shaking, finding it hard to breathe as though something were trying to take over her, calling to her. Her eyes went wide, images flashing before her.

_There was a wind of silver hair around her, enveloping her. Warm arms wrapped around her as someone smiled down at her. Looking up, she found a mans face. The man in question was very tall, armor on his shoulders, chest exposed minus straps that crossed in front of it, a long black trench coat, even longer sword at his side, and last but not least, long silver hair. His eyes were cat like in a way, glowing mako colored eyes. "I'm coming for you my little one…" he whispered faintly into her ear, his lips brushing against her ear._

"No…no…NO! Leave Angel alone!" she cried out, holding her head.

"_You'll be mine soon enough…my little angel" he whispered, before kissing her on the lips, ravaging her mouth._

"Angel!" Vincent called out, shaking her shoulders. After a moment, he shook her out of it, her eyes wide and scared.

"V-Vin…c-c-cent…" she cried, shaking terribly. Vincent held her close to him, knowing that this was a result of Kadaj and his gang. Suddenly, another shot rang out, bringing more fear to Angel. He watched as she covered her ears fearfully. She was terrified. Vincent watched as the mark on her arm started to grow, swirling around her arm.

"That's enough…" Vincent said, whirling around and firing his gun, the mark on her arm stopping instantly. He had broken the control that they'd had over her, freeing her from their grip. He then watched as the mark began to shrink a bit, but it still stayed larger than it was before. One thing that wouldn't stop though was her shaking. She just couldn't seem to stay still for the life of her. Vincent shot his gun again, when one of the brothers made it into his sights. Angel let out a startled yelp, when Yazoo appeared behind her, quickly grabbing hold of her.

"Vin Vin!" she shouted, causing Vincent to whirl around, glaring at Yazoo.

"Get off of her" Vincent ordered, advancing on him, only to be stopped as he brought his blade up to her neck. Angel froze, feeling the cold metal at her throat. She let out a whimper as it was pressed further to her throat. Unfortunately, all of this stalling was merely a distraction, and he was soon on the ground.

"Vincent!" Angel cried out as Loz hit Vincent in the back of the neck. She was forced to watch as he fell to the ground, unconscious. "Vincent!" she cried, but there was no response. He just lay there on the ground unmoving. When Vincent didn't respond, she started squirming, frantically attempting to get out of Yazoo's hold.

Yazoo growled when she wouldn't stop squirming, making it harder to keep hold of her. It finally got to the point, that he threw her down to the ground in annoyance. She scrambled over to Vincent once she hit the ground, shaking his shoulder, tears in her eyes. "Vin Vin…Vin Vin!" she cried, clutching his cloak in her hands.

"Grab her so we can go" Kadaj said, getting annoyed. Yazoo nodded, trying to pick her up, but she bit his hand.

"Ah! You little brat" he growled, shoving her away. "Loz, you grab her" he grumbled, walking away from her. Loz grinned, advancing on her.

"Come on sister" Loz said, trying to pull her away, but she wouldn't let go of Vincent.

"Vin Vin!" she cried, clinging to him desperately.

Finally having had enough, Kadaj decided to take matters into his own hands. While Angel continued to hold onto Vincent, Kadaj came behind her, grabbing her by her hair. She cried out in pain as he gave a sharp tug on her hair, pulling her to her feet. She grabbed hold of his hand, trying to pry it from her hair, but it was no use.

"Let Angel go!" she cried, clawing at his hand. "Vincent!" she shouted, trying to get him to wake up. Kadaj gave another sharp tug on her hair, pulling her a few feet away from Vincent. Kadaj just chuckled at her pathetic display.

"Brother, I thought you said she wouldn't be like this" Loz said, looking at Kadaj.

"Well, I guess I was wrong then. It doesn't really matter though. Once Sephiroth is back, she won't want to leave" he said, laughing. "Now…" he started, growling as he brought Angel to face him "I suggest you be quiet" he snapped, though it wasn't his voice that made her stop, it was his eyes. His eyes seemed to silence her, slowly putting her back under her previous spell. He knew that Sephiroth was enjoying this, so he enjoyed it as well. Eventually, Vincent wasn't the only one who found themselves unconscious. Angel herself, now laid limp in the youngest boys arms, Kadaj's spell still holding onto her.


	16. Sephiroth's Control

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 16**

_Flames swirled all around Angel, encircling her with its heated wrath. Images of death plagued her mind with blood. She screamed out loud, trying to get help, trying to get away from it all. Nothing seemed to work though as she continued to watch people die, especially her friends…and Vincent. She was absolutely terrified._

_"No!" she screamed, desperately wishing for it to stop._

"_This is what you were made for…" a voice called out from the darkness of the flames, echoing all around her._

_"No!" she cried out again, falling to her knees as she cradled her head in her hands._

"_You were created to destroy the scum of this planet…"_

_"No…" she cried._

"_You were created…to kill…" the voice rang out and into her ears, shrouding her mind with its words._

_"Stop it…" she whispered, head pressed against her knees._

"_You're…just…like…me…" it whispered into her ear. All that this caused her was pain as tears flowed freely from her eyes, plummeting one by one to the flame-infested floor._

"Angel…" the deep voice whispered as his fingers dug into the ground. He knew that he had failed her, that he had failed to protect her and keep her safe. Even the demon inside him was raging in the back of his mind. What was even worse, was that he was unable to find her. He had even taken in Cloud's help.

They had been searching for her for 3 days now, and still there was nothing to find. The following day, Red XIII came to help them. With his keen sense of smell, they'd have to find her.

At about noon, Red finally picked up her scent. What was strange though, was that the scent led toward the snowy mountains.

T

Among the cold and ice of the mountains, four people stood upon a flattened slab of stone, looking out at the land before them. Out of all of them, one in particular possessed an unnerving aura. This man, was dressed in a long black trench coat, his long silver hair flowing around him in the wind.

"Sephiroth, they're coming" another man said, running back up to the platform. Sephiroth turned to look at him, his gaze like a knife cutting through him as his lips turned up into a twisted grin.

"Finally…" he breathed out, before kneeling down in front of the girl before him. "It won't be much longer now…you'll be mine then. You'll be my little angel…and you'll destroy them" he whispered smoothly into her ear, but she just sat there, not moving a muscle. He then stood back up, turning toward the oncoming company that climbed the mountain.

T

"Everyone, stop" Red said, coming to stop in front of everyone. "We're not alone here" At that, everyone started looking around, hands on weapons, and Vincent's on his gun.

"…" Vincent turned his head toward one of the cliffs ahead. There was something there, something evil. Slowly, he walked forward, the others following behind him.

"Are you sure she's gonna wanna stay with us after this?" someone asked about 20 yards ahead of them.

"Of course I'm sure you idiot! Do you really think that Sephiroth is that weak?" the another one shouted at the man.

Everyone froze at the sound of that name. They couldn't believe it, Sephiroth was finally back. He was finally back and ready to make their lives a living hell.

"Hey! It's Angel! Vincent, it's Angel!" Yuffie cried out, running ahead of everyone and into clear view.

"Yuffie! No!" Tifa shouted, but it was too late, she'd already blown their cover.

No sooner had Yuffie reached Angel, she was surround, blades against her throat.

"Finally, you all have decided to show. I was beginning to wonder when I'd finally get to have some fun, but first…" Sephiroth started, walking up to were Angel was sitting. "Time to wake up my dear" Sephiroth said, quickly snapping his fingers, bringing her out of her trace like state.

"Vincent!" Angel cried, quickly getting up to run to him, but she was suddenly stopped by Sephiroth grabbing a hold of her. "Vincent!" she cried, reaching out for him hopelessly.

"Let her go" Vincent said, growling faintly as he stepped forward toward Sephiroth.

"Actually, I don't think that I will..in fact, I don't think that she'll even want to leave" Sephiroth stated, before pulling her against him for a moment. He looked at Vincent, a grin on his face as he slammed his lips into hers.

Vincent's eyes darkened in rage as he was about to take a step forward.

Everyone watched though as her eyes went wide, struggling against him for a moment, before his hand went through her chest. Everyone gasped as they watched. She just stopped moving all together as her eyes went wide, light slowly fading from them as she hunched forward a bit in Sephiroth's hold. They watched helplessly as her wings slowly turned pitch black. Sephiroth then pulled his hand out of Angel, letting her fall against him.

"Finally, you're mine" he cooed, loud enough for everyone to hear. Vincent went ridged as he watched this. Sephiroth stared at him, effortlessly wrapping his arm around Angel and pulling her against him affectionately.

"Let her go" Vincent spoke coldly toward Sephiroth, wanting his hands off of her. Sephiroth looked down at her, a smirk on his face before letting go of her.

"Very well. Angel, why do you show him who you really love?" Sephiroth said, his eyes staying glued her to movements.

"Angel…" Vincent spoke softly, holding out his hand for her, but she didn't move. "Angel?" he called, only to be ignored.

"Angel?" Sephiroth called, causing her to turn around. He held his arms open for her as he gestured her back to him. Vincent watched with disbelief as she turned and walked back into his arms, back into the arms of that monster Sephiroth.

"Angel…" he whispered "what did you do to her?" he inquired.

"I merely made her aware of what she truly is" he said, a devious look on his lips as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.

As Vincent stood there, he kept getting angrier and angrier, the demon inside him slowly starting to take control.

"Now my love, let's show the bitty bat our true power…" he cooed, bringing her hand up with his, before quickly waving it in the air. A strong wave of power was shot toward Vincent, sending him flying toward the edge of the cliff.

"Vincent!" Yuffie yelled, but before she could even attempt to run and help him, she was sent hurling through the air and against the side of the cliff.

"Now…why don't we have a little fun and play?" he spoke softly into her ear, pulling out his sword and placing it into her hands, his resting upon it. "Kill them" he whispered, before stepping back and letting her take hold of his sword. He was going to have fun and watch her kill them. "Now" he told her, watching as she took a step toward everyone, his Masamune in her hands.

Before anyone knew it, she was running forward in an attempt to attack them, striking out with the sword. Metal quickly met metal as Cloud crossed blades with her, pushing against her attack. He found it to be strangely hard to press against her strength, especially for someone as small as she was. The whole time, Sephiroth stood back watching with a devilish look upon his face. He was enjoying the torment that this was giving them.

"Push him back!" Sephiroth called to her, watching her quickly respond to his order as she thrust the sword forward, knocking Cloud back and slicing at him. Cloud tried to jump out of the way, but she still cut the top of his arm. Moments later, Shadow Creepers started appearing, surrounding them all.

"_Do it…attack them now!_" a voice cried out in her head.

A second later, the Shadow Creepers were leaping forward, attacking the closest person to them. Vincent found himself shooting off round after round of bullets, destroying them as they leapt at him. He never noticed the other two brothers' materia activating, aiming at him.

"I think it's time to slay the monster inside" Sephiroth called, a smug look on his face as energy shot out from not only his hand, but Loz and Yazoo's as well. Like the time before, Vincent was sent flying back, clutching his heart in pain. Even his most silent of cries could be heard as he cried out in agony. Angel seemed to pause for a moment as she saw this, but only for a moment.

"Vincent!" Cloud called out to him, but unfortunately, he could not get to him. They just watched as Chaos took over his, causing his body insurmountable pain.

It wasn't long before his cries of pain ended, growls replacing them as his claws dug into the ground. This was his true demon, his other side. Unfortunately, in this mind set, he didn't care who his enemy was.

"Much better. At last, the true demon shows his face" Sephiroth spoke to everyone as he came behind Angel, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Now…" he started, whispering in her ear, "I want you to end his pathetic, miserable existence…" he finished, trailing his finger tips along her cheek, before drawing her into a kiss. This nearly seemed to draw out the very last of her will power, only leaving perhaps a faint inkling behind, if any at all. "Go" he order, stepping back out of the way, leaving her to contend with Vincent's true form.

It was sad really as she stood there, her will power drained, leaving her a mere puppet to use at Sephiroth's whim. She was like a hollow shell without a conscious mind as she took steps slowly toward the monster before her. Chaos merely stood there crouched on the ground as though ready to pounce. His angry growl never stopped as she drew closer, staring at him as he bared his fangs at her. It didn't even seem to register in her mind, the amount of deadly power that he held.

"I must…end you…" Angel spoke softly, though her voice was completely void of emotion. Her eyes were no different.

"Angel!" Tifa called out "You have to fight it! Please, try and fight it!" Tifa tried, but Angel didn't even seem to hear it. All that she heard were Sephiroth's words echoing in her mind.

"_I want you to end him… End his pathetic…miserable…existence…_"Sephiroth's voice rang out through her mind.

"End him…end his…existence…" she whispered incoherently, staring into Chaos' flashing yellow eyes. Without even realizing it, she began lifting up her arm, a dark energy surrounding it. Moments later, she was sending out at Chaos, knocking him back a few feet. Chaos growled angrly at her, before slowly getting up and making his way toward her.

She didn't even bother to move as he got closer, inch by inch, until he was merely a foot in front of her. She just stared at him as though lost within herself. Her mind plagued by Sephiroth's thoughts.

"_Attack him. Kill him now_" Sephiroth ordered in her head. She didn't move though as Chaos lunged forward, grabbing her by her throat and lifting her up into the air. At this point, she couldn't breathe. She didn't even bother trying to grab at his wrist or anything. It didn't stop until the sound of Yazoo's gun blade was heard, a seering pain being Chaos' arm and Angel's shoulder. The pain is what brought Angel out of Sephiroth's control and into crying in pain.

Chaos was still furious as he stood there, growling at her, senses blinded by rage.

Scared out of her wits, Angel slowly began backing up, shaking in fear.

"V-Vin Vin…" she cried, continuing to crawl away from him, until her back came in contact with Sephiroth's strong legs. At this point she didn't care who Sephiroth was, bad guy or not, she just wanted to get away and held tight to his leg.

"See? This is a true monster" he said, before kneeling down and pulling her from his leg. "This is what he truly is, a beast that needs to be put to death and destroyed from this world." None of this registered in her mind as she cried. Right now she just wanted Vincent, and for Vincent to take her away from there.

"Vin Vin…" she cried as Chaos slowly made his way closer.

"Come now, there's nothing to be afraid of. He's just a stubborn old beast" Sephiroth cooed quietly to her, carefully standing up with her, picking up his sword as well. He turned her around to face Chaos, placing the sword back in her hands, gripping it to keep her hands there. He made sure that she couldn't let go of it, raising it as Chaos kept stepping forward. She winced when pressure was placed on her shoulder as he held her against him, pressing painfully on the wound.

"No!" she cried, trying to get out of his hold, desperately wanting to get away from Chaos.

"Now, now… we have to discipline the beast" Sephiroth said, ignoring her frantic protests.

"No! No! No!" she cried, trying to open her wings in an attempt to get Sephiroth to release her. It didn't work though, only causing her further pain. "Vin Vin! I want Vin Vin… I want Vincent!" she yelled, fighting against Sephiroth. He merely grinned down her pathetic attempt.

"Do you really think that I'm going to let you get off the hook so easily?" he whispered into her ear, while still keeping an eye on Chaos. He paid no mind to the others that were there, leaving Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and Red XIII to contend with the Shadow Creepers. "You're going to see the truth of what you can do" he said, forcing her to raise her arm as he pressed a piece of material into it, causing her to yell out in pain. "Now…die" he breathed as an explosion of fire shot out from their hands, hitting Chaos in the chest. He let out an angry roar when it hit him, burning his skin. Out of rage he lashed out at them, his claws meeting that of Sephiroth's sword. With a quick motion of his sword, Chaos was knocked back, slicing his arm. Sephiroth went to strike again, only to met Cloud's sword. Cloud let out a grunt as he pushed against Sephiroth's blade, trying to keep them from fighting each other.

"Vincent! You have to wake up. It's your body, not Chaos'. Don't let your rage blind you from that" Cloud told him, trying to knock Sephiroth's sword from his hands. "Vincent, she needs your help" he called to him. It didn't seem to affect him though. He mind was too clouded by rage.

"Perhaps you're not ready yet?" Sephiroth spoke allowed, only for Angel to hear. This confused her greatly when he said this, though there wasn't much time for thinking. "Perhaps we should let him wallow in guilt and pain then" he said, his lips twisted into an evil grin.

"What?" That was all she got to say as everything seemed to play in slow motion. While Chaos lunged forward, Sephiroth knocked Cloud out of the way, letting him fall to the ground. Cloud was unable to stop Chaos from attacking as Chaos through his arm forward to attack. Sephiroth pushed Angel forward, jumping back out of the way from the blow. They all watched as Chaos' hand went through her stomach, a muffled cry coming out as she spat blood from her mouth. Once he realized what he had done, he pulled his hand out, letting her drop to the ground.

"Vin…cent…" she gasped, falling to her knees. At the sound of her voice, his eyes flickered crimson. His body seemed to shake as he took a few steps back, his wings disappearing before he fell backwards onto the ground. He sat there staring at her in disbelief through those crimson eyes of his. He couldn't believe what he had just done to her.

"A-Angel" he choked out, staring at his now black winged angel. Sephiroth merely laughed at him as he stood watching everyone.

"Can you live with the pain and sorrow…with the guilt of what you've done to her?" Sephiroth chuckled, laughing at him. "Let's see how long she lasted…when you're all buried in snow!" he exclaimed, before throwing out a ball of energy at the ground, braking the cliff and mountain side into pieces.

"No!" Vincent yelled, pushing off the ground toward Angel. Before he or anyone else could grab her, the ground collapsed beneath him.

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to REVIEW? It will help me get the next chapter out. Also, if anyone has any feed back, I'd love it hear it. Please and thank you. Bye bye.**


	17. Calling in a Favor: Reno to the Rescue

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 17**

The only thing that could be heard was silence as the cloud of snow began to settle. There was nothing left of the cliff that they had stood on upon the mountain and a large section of the mountain was no longer there. Among the silence, the braking of snow could be heard as a large Red cat/dog broke through to the top. He shook his fur off, causing the snow to fly off of his body and join the rest on the snowy forest floor. He sniffed the air, before quickly making his way to a section of snow, digging at it furiously. It didn't take long before he uncovered a piece of red cloth. Gathering his strength, he grabbed hold of it with his teeth, pulling it til he could sink his teeth into the person attached to it.

A faint groan was heard when he finally pulled the man out, his tail accidentally smacking the man in the face.

"Ugh…" Vincent groaned for a moment, sitting up as he held his head in his hands. "Angel!" he called quickly, coming to his senses as he shot up, trying to find her. "We have to find her" he said, searching the snow franticly. Red began sniffing around again, trying to get hold of a scent. Again, he made quick work, tearing through the snow. Coughing as heard as he pulled Cloud out of the snow, Yuffie popping her head out a few moments later about 3 yards away.

"Where's Tifa?" Cloud asked, coughing a few more times.

"She's buried somewhere under the snow" Red told him, sniffing around again til he found her, pulling her out with Cloud's help. Now, the only one left to find was Angel.

They continued to search for another 5 minutes, until Yuffie saw something. It stood out greatly against the white of the snow. It was blood that had stained the snow deep from beneath it. Seeing this, she quickly started digging at the snow.

"Help me!" she shouted at the others in annoyance, continuing to dig at the snow. At about 3 feet in, they finally came across her. Her wings were twisted painfully in a position that obviously wasn't normal. "Angel, can you hear me?" she asked, trying to pull her out. "Help me!" she shouted, pulling as hard as she could. Vincent quickly moved her out of the way, digging the snow out further, carefully pulling her out by her shoulders. She was a complete mess. "Oh no…what are we going to do?" Yuffie said, starting to spaz out in a panic.

"She's going to need intensive care" Tifa said as she side stepped Yuffie, walking close to Angel and Vincent. "I hate to say this, but we might have to call in a favor from Reno"

"You've got to be kidding me?" Cloud exclaimed "Do you really think that we can trust him with this? I mean look at her. The moment ShinRa sees her I bet you he'd be all over her" he said, letting out a puff of air.

"Cloud" she warned, eyeing him for a moment, before looking over at Vincent. She knew that he'd rather not get them involved with this, even if they did help get rid of the silver haired trio the last time. "Vincent?" she asked, staring at him. He waited for a moment, before he met her gaze, nodding his head. At that, she quickly pulled out her cell phone, typing in a number as she placed it to her ear. It rang a few times before anyone answered. "Reno, it's Tifa, we need a favor and quick"

15 minutes later, a helicopter could be seen in the sky, landing carefully in the forest. They were met by a man with firey red hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in black dress pants, a white button up dress shirt and black jacket.

"Reno, thank god you're here" Tifa exclaimed, running over to him. Once he got to where everyone else was, he stood frozen in place. Before him was a black winged angel laying beat up in the arms of Vincent Valentine.

"Who…what is she?" he asked, his eyes slightly wide as he took a step closer.

"Angel…" Vincent whispered.

"Huh?"

"Her name…is Angel" Vincent said once again, turning his head for a moment to look at Reno.

"Reno, can you help us? Please?" Tifa begged "If we don't do something soon, she's going to die" she told him, kneeling down next to Vincent. He stood there for a moment, scratching the back of his neck.

"I don't know…" he started as he eyed everyone, before looking back down at the strange looking girl. She let out a faint groan as she laid in Vincent's arms. Reno could clearly see how weak she was. She was literally on the verge of death right now and would likely pass within the hour if something wasn't done to help. "Alright…but we have to hurry" he said, quickly turning and running back toward the helicopter. He opened his door to get in the pilot seat, putting on his head set as he started turning dials and flipping switches. Everyone pilled in, Tifa moving up to the front to sit next to Reno.

"Thank you Reno" Tifa said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He just smiled back at her as he fixed the communicator closer to his mouth.

"Hey Rude, can you hear me buddy? Over" he called into the mic, flipping another switch for take off. A bit of static met his ears, followed by a heavy voice. "I need to have a medical team ready for when I land. I have a girl in critical condition. We're going to have to make it quick, we don't have any time for errors right now" he said, pulling the helicopter into the air. Everyone grabbed hold of something as they tried to steady themselves. "Thanks bud, I'll see ya soon. Reno over and out"

With that, he took off toward ShinRa's main medical area, hoping to get there as fast as possible. Occasionally, he'd look over his shoulder to glance at everyone in back, checking to see if there was any movement. The whole time, Angel remained still in Vincent's arms, breathing heavily as she tried to fill her lungs with air.

"How's she doing back there?" he called over the sound of the propellers.

"Not good" Yuffie shouted. She didn't want to admit the fact that she was scared to everyone. She was scared that Angel wouldn't make it, but she did want Vincent to know that, he was already hurting enough on the inside for what he had done.

"Oh crap, hang on!" Reno shouted as he steered to the side, the helicopter giving a hard jerk. "BASTARD!!!" he shouted at the chopper that flew by. He quickly turned radio channels on the com link. "This is Reno of ShinRa Security, what the hell is your problem!?" he yelled furiously.

"Sorry man" a voice called through the intercom.

"Sorry!? You could have gotten us killed! I have a girl on board in critical condition you ***hole!" he shouted. The man on the other end didn't seem to like this very much.

"I said I was sorry, don't go and get your undies in a knot" he called. This sent Reno over the edge.

"Just wait til you get back to base, Craig!" he shouted as he evened out the helicopter. "Everyone okay back there?" he called, turning to look back at everyone. They were barely able to sit up properly. In fact, Vincent was on the floor on his back. He was holding onto Angel with one arm, his other wrapped up in part of the inside rigging, and his leg hooked around one of the legs on the seats. This was the only thing that had kept him from flying out of the helicopter. At this point he was glaring irritably at Reno, who quickly turned back around to fly the chopper.

Angel didn't give much of a response to anything, save for another groan of pain, which caused Vincent even more heartache.

Vincent blamed himself for this whole thing. It was his fault that she had gotten hurt because he was the one that had hurt her. He should have had more control over Chaos, but he didn't, and as a result she was hurt terribly.

"Mmm…" she whined quietly, trying her best to take in air. At this point Vincent's hands were completely covered in blood, along with his clothing. His face even held a bit of blood on it from where he had tried to whip his face.

"We're almost there, just hang on a few more minutes" Reno told him as he began lowering their altitude a bit. He could see the landing platform in the distance, a medical team ready to transfer her into the building the moment they landed. He could also see Rude waiting there for him.

"Rude, can you hear me? Over" he spoke into the mic.

"Rude here. Affirmative. Over"

"Get ready for transfer and be ready to move. Over"

"We're ready"

"Commence handing!" he called out, slowly bringing it down onto the landing platform. Everyone held on as they landed. Red was the first one to jump out, followed by Cloud and Yuffie. The two of them help Vincent lift Angel out of the helicopter as medics started surrounding them. The sound of startled gasps could be heard as people saw her. Reno growled at them, quickly throwing his head set in the seat and smacking one of the medics in the back of the head. "What part of hurry and critical condition don't you understand!?"

"S-sorry Sir" one of them spoke, quickly placing her on a stretcher and wheeling her inside as fast as they could. Vincent stood there for a moment, watching as they took her away.

"Vincent, go after them and make sure she's okay" Tifa told him, gently pushing him forward a bit. He soon followed behind them, running inside. "Poor Vincent" she whispered quietly as she watched her friend disappear inside.

"So…ya mind telling me exactly what happened?" Reno asked.

"How about we talk inside?"

Vincent stayed right behind them as they rushed her into a room, carefully placing her on a bed.

He watched as they placed a breathing mask on her, hooking up different I.V.'s, and connecting her to a heart monitor.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait outside" one of the medics told him, only to receive a glare. When one of them literally tried to move him, he nearly lashed out at them, causing them to crawl away in fear.

"If he won't move, call security" one of them said. One of them nodded, pressing one of the call buttons.

"Security, we need help down here. We have a man that needs to be escorted out of the room"

Suddenly, Angel cried out in pain, causing Vincent to rush over to her. One of them had tried cutting at the mark on her arm. He growled at them, knocking them to the other side of the room. A moment later, security came in, grabbing hold of him. They tried pulling him from the room, but he fought against them, throwing one of them into a wall. Two more men came in, holding him to the ground as one of the doctors sedated him.

"What's going on in here?" Reno asked as he ran into the room. "What do you think you're doing!?" he shouted, pushing one of the men off of Vincent.

"He wouldn't leave and then when we tried to help her, he attacked us" one of the doctors tried to explain.

"That's because he was told that he could be here" Reno said annoyed. The doctors just looked at him like he was crazy.

"You okay there buddy?" Reno asked, pulling Vincent to his feet.

"Leave me…be…" he spoke in an uneven tone, trying to hold onto something. He could barely see straight.

"What did you do to him?" Reno demanded, grabbing one of the doctors by the collar of their shirt.

"W-we s-sedated him" he stuttered. Reno quickly shoved the man away from him, watching as Vincent fell against Angel's hospital bed, trying to pull himself up.

"Be glad he didn't kill you for that" he spat, moving toward Vincent.

The poor man laid there almost limply as he held the young girls hand, whispering quietly to her. He kept going in and out of consciousness, but fought to stay awake. He didn't want to leave her alone again when he knew that she needed him the most. Unfortunately, it only took minutes before he was completely out of it and on the floor.

**I hope everyone enjoyed this alot. Please REVIEW and let me know what you thought of it. I'm eager to hear everyones thoughts and comments.**


	18. Never Again

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 18**

When Vincent finally woke up, he found himself on a hospital bed. The leather on his torso had been stripped away and his shoulder was wrapped up. When he checked his pants, he found that his gun was missing.

"Looking for this?"

He looked up to find Tifa standing there, gun in hand as she smiled at him a bit. He let out a faint sigh, leaning back against the bed.

"How is she?" he asked, closing his eyes.

"Well…she's stable, but that's about it. Yuffie and me have been chasing off doctors since you've been out. They just won't stop trying to probe her. It's really ticking me off" she said, rubbing her temple. "So…how are you feeling?" she asked. He just remained silent. "You know…you can't go blaming yourself for this Vincent, it wasn't your fault" she spoke softly, coming to sit in a chair next to his bed.

"Yes it is…" came the sound of his now quiet voice. "I did that to her"

"No you didn't Vincent. If anyone is to blame for this, it's Sephiroth. He's the one that did this to her. He did this just to spite you" she said. He didn't say anything, even after she said this.

She sighed quietly, before standing up from her spot.

"If it makes you feel any better, Cloud's been watching her for you along with Red. I really think that you should come and see her though. I'm sure it would make her feel better" she said, before walking out of the room and down the hall.

A few hours later, Vincent left his room. He found a white shirt to wear to cover up his bruises, leaving his own shirt and cape behind in the room. He was slightly annoyed when he found his bandana missing though.

"Excuse me sir, do you need help with anything?" a nurse asked.

"Yes. Could you tell me where the young girl is that was brought in earlier? She's a friend of mine…I'd like to see her" he asked quietly. The nurse smiled at him, moving some hair behind her ear.

"Of course sir, please follow me and I'll show you the way" she said, leading him down the hall to another wing of the hospital. "Here we are sir" she said. He nodded his head.

"Thank you"

"You're welcome sir" she said, before going to another room to check on a patient.

When Vincent looked inside through the window, he saw Cloud resting in a chair next to the bed. Nanaki or Red, was curled up at the foot of her bed sleeping. Although, when his eyes landed on Angel, an incredible sadness washed over him.

"_This is my fault_" he thought quietly to himself "_I did this to her…this is…all my fault_"

As he continued to watch her from outside the window, he saw her hand twitch, fingers curling toward her palm. She was sleeping right now, due to the amount of drugs running through her system. She looked like she was in pain though as she slept, something plaguing her gentle mind. After another minute or two, he finally made up his mind, and stepped inside the room. He made sure not to wake up Cloud or Nanaki as he stepped closer to the bed.

When he was close enough, he noticed the mark on her arm. It had grown so much do to everything that happened and was covering the side of her neck. It seemed to move a bit every few seconds or so, which put Vincent on edge a bit. Whatever was bothering her was hurting her.

"Angel" he whispered softly into her ear, trying to calm her. Once he placed his hand on top of hers, it stopped twitching almost immediately.

"Vincent?"

Vincent turned around, watching as Cloud sat up yawning.

"I was wondering when you were going to finally make your way down here to see her" he said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. "Ah…that feels much better. Here, why don't you sit down?" he said, gesturing to the chair he had previously occupied just moments ago. Vincent gave him a short nod of thanks before sitting down, pulling the chair closer to the bed. He sat there holding Angel's hand in his own, placing his forehead against it, before gently kissing the knuckles of her hand.

Cloud smiled faintly as he watched his friend. He knew how badly he was probably blaming himself for all of this. He knew what it was like to blame oneself for something that you had no control over…it was hard.

"I'm going to find Tifa. I'll check back in on you later Vincent" Cloud said, walking out the door and closing it behind him.

"I'm sorry…" Vincent whispered quietly from his spot beside her. He wanted so much for her to wake up and smile at him, to tell him that it was okay, to make a funny gesture, anything. Although, he knew that she likely wouldn't be waking up any time soon. Her body had been drained of so much energy, that he was surprised that she even made it to the hospital. After everything that Sephiroth did…

He sighed heavily, not wanting to think about it.

He sat there, stroking her hand with his thumb gently, brushing it back and forth.

"I love you Angel" he whispered, kissing her hand. He took a moment to look at her a bit more. Her wings were completely messed up. They had rebroken the bones so that they could be set properly. A bandage had been placed around her head from where she had likely hit it during the fall, and her shoulder was bandaged up too. The worst though was her stomach. Thick bandages had been wrapped around her stomach and were stained with blood. They had undoubtedly tried stitching her up a bit, and it looked as though she would have to have skin graphed to her stomach once or twice.

She was sure to hate him after this. It wouldn't surprise him if she never wanted to come near him again once she woke up.

"You know, it's becoming quite an annoyance, seeing you do that" came Nanaki's voice.

"What…?" Vincent asked, his eyes never leaving Angel. Nanaki snorted, before stretching out a bit.

"Watching you continuously putting yourself down" he answered, walking over to Vincent. He placed his paws up on the bed, resting his head on the edge. "I saw everything that happened. It wasn't your fault. He pushed her in front of you on purpose, whispering something into her ear right before he did it" he told him. "I only heard part of it, something about her not being ready, and something about guilt" he said. Vincent turned his eyes just a fraction, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. "This is far from over my friend" he said, moving to leave the room. He was quickly stopped by the sound of the heart monitor speeding up.

"Angel…" Vincent whispered as he watched her.

"I'll get help" Nanaki told him, running out of the room.

_Thoughts pounded through her head as she tried to find a light among the darkness. The only good that it did her was sending her into images of the previous events. She could see herself attacking Vincent, trying to kill him._

"…_what you truly are"_

"_Kill him…"_

"…_end him…"_

"…_needs to be destroyed…"_

"_Vincent!"_

"_Vin Vin…I want Vin Vin"_

"_No! No! No!"_

_Things kept repeating in her mind, driving her crazy. She could remember the fear that she held for Chaos, the pain that she felt as his hand went through her body. She could remember watching as he changed back, a fearful and scared look in his eyes._

"_You'll destroy him soon enough my little angel" Sephiroth's voice rang out in her head._

"_No! Leave Angel alone! Let be! Stay away!" she shouted, wrapping her wings around herself, only to find that they were no longer white, but black. "No! Leave Angel be!" she yelled. She knew that if things didn't stop soon, she'd go insane._

"_Angel…" a voice called. It sounded familiar to her. "Calm down…I'm here…Angel…" it was Vincent. The voice belonged to Vincent. He was trying to help her._

"_Vincent…Vincent!" she cried out to him, wanting to see him. "Vin Vin…" she whispered._

"Vin…Vin…" she murmured in her sleep as he held onto her hand trying to calm her. The doctor had just finished injecting some sort of medicine into her medical drip moments ago. It was already starting to take effect, calming her down, and putting her into a more restful sleep.

"Angel…" he whispered her name, gently stroking her cheek with his hand. He wanted so badly to see her smiling face again and to hold her in his arms like he normally did. He knew that it wouldn't be right though after what he did to her.

Letting out a heavily sigh, he stood up and kissed her forehead.

"Nanaki…keep an eye on her for me" he said quietly, before walking out of the door. He couldn't bare to see her like this, so he had to get away. Maybe going to see Lucrecia would help clear his mind. So with that in his thoughts, he left the hospital, not bothering to go back and get his shirt or cape.

After a couple of hours, Cloud came to check in on things. He was surprised when he found Vincent gone, leaving Nanaki to be the only one there.

"Where'd Vincent go?" Cloud asked, looking around the room.

"I'm not sure. He left a couple hours ago" Nanaki said. He was currently laying on the bed at the end by her feet. "He was stressed and didn't seem to be comfortable staying in the room" he informed Cloud, letting loose an airy yawn.

"Great…" he sighed in slight annoyance.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon" Nanaki tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, in a few days that is" he said, before leaving the room. He didn't understand why Vincent would leave, now of all times, he should be here by Angel's side watching over her.

T

Just like Cloud said, it was a few days. Although, a few days ended up being like 2 weeks instead. In Vincent's absence, Angel had woken up, though it was only a few moments before she slipped back into unconsciousness. Cloud wished that Vincent could have been there, especially when she had looked around the room, calling out for him. Cloud found it unnerving that he wasn't there for her when she woke up. He remembered how she was desperately searching the room with her eyes, trying to find Vincent. The disappointment and sadness in her eyes had pulled at his heart, especially, when she had come to meet his gaze. He could only imagine what Tifa was going to do to Vincent when he got back.

A couple days later, Vincent still hadn't returned, and Angel had awakened once more. Like the last time, she looked around the room, hoping to find Vincent. Once again, she was left with sad disappointment.

"Cloud…?" came the sound of her hoarse voice. He smiled faintly as he came over to her, holding her out stretched hand.

"What is it Angel?" he asked.

"Where…where is Vincent?" she asked, her brows furrowed a bit as her eyes glided quietly around the room. He frowned a bit at the question.

"He's…not here right now. He stepped out for a bit, but don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon" he said, trying to reassure her. She looked like she was going to cry when she heard him say this.

"I…I want…Vin Vin…" she said, a tear slowly falling from her eye. Cloud watched as it turned into a deep blue colored sphere. He picked it up in his hand, looking at it strangely.

"Hey, I got a surprise for you" Cloud said quickly, getting up and going to the door. He called for someone and moments later they came running into the room.

"Angel!" they exclaimed happily. It was Marlene who had come to see her. "I'm so glad that you're okay" she squealed happily as she came to the side of the bed. Angel just stared at her, not saying a word as she held in her tears. Cloud sighed as he watched this, stepping out of the room to find Tifa.

"Tifa, we have to do something" Cloud said as he sat down beside her on one of the leather seats.

"I'll try calling him again, but I don't know if it will do any good" she said, pulling out her cell phone and putting the number in. She sat there for a few moments, listening to it ring on the other end. Right as she was about to give up and hang the phone up, someone answered. "Vincent? Is that you?" she asked, listening for the response. "Where are you? … Vincent, you need to stop this, Angel needs you. … Yes she does. Do you realize how hurt and disappointed she was when she woke up to find that you weren't there? … She was devastated. Vincent, you need to come back here or so help me, I'll come get you and drag your sorry but back here myself. … You wanna test that little theory of yours? … I didn't think so. … No, now, and I mean it. … She's awake right now asking for you, she was crying too" she said.

"Tifa, give me the phone" Cloud said, holding out his hand. Tifa handed it over to him, letting out a sigh. "Vincent, I swear, if I have to see her look at me one more time with that sad look on her face, I will personally be the one to kick your but" he said. "Now get back here" he ordered, hanging up the phone, giving it back to Tifa.

"If that boy ain't here in half a hour, I'm gonna knock 'em upside that thick head of his" Cid muttered, leaning against the wall.

Vincent finally came in 27 minutes later and was quickly met by a smack in the back of the head. Just about everyone was glaring at him.

"NEVER do that again" Cid exclaim, walking outside to smoke.

"There ye are, you better be gettin' in there and seein' her boy" Cait Sith said, trying to push him into Angel's room. He just moved out of the way, quietly walking over to the door. He peaked inside to find Angel's back to him and Marlene pouting. He had to put his finger up to his lips when she saw him to prevent her from alerting Angel. Marlene just grinned as she carefully ran out of the room, leaving Vincent alone with Angel.

Angel never even realized that Vincent had come into the room. He stood there quietly for a minute, before stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. The muscles in his lips pulled slightly as he watched her eyes go wide. She laid there for a moment, before slowly turning over to look at him. The moment her eyes landed on him she broke out in tears.

"V-V-Vincent" she cried, grabbing hold of his arm and hugging it. "I-I'm sorry" she cried, shoulders shaking. His brows furrowed when he heard this.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, trying to rid himself of his current confusion.

"I…I attacked you…I…I'm sorry" she cried, clutching at his arm. She was slightly shocked to find skin instead of leather, along with the fact that he was missing his bandana. He shook his head.

"No…don't be sorry. I should be apologizing…I…wasn't here when you awoke" he admitted, kneeling down in front of her. He whipped away the tears from her eyes before they could turn into crystals. She smiled faintly as she reached her hand out, placing it on his cheek.

She was so happy to see him.

"Never leave…" she whispered, pushing herself up so that she could reach his face, placing her lips against his. He seemed caught off guard for a moment, surprised at her sudden action. Though with a faint smile on his face he returned the kiss, pulling away, and placing his forehead against hers.

"I promise…never again" he whispered.

**I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'll try and get the next one up as soon as I can. Please remember to REVIEW? I love hearing any feedback that you're willing to give me. Thanks to all my loyal readers and everyone else.**


	19. Escape

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 19**

Once he came back, Vincent never left Angel's side, making sure to keep an eye on her. He wasn't going to leave her by herself like that again. As the days went by, Angel found it amusing at the fact that he still hadn't come to find his bandana yet. She wasn't used to seeing him with his bangs in his face and found it cute. Whenever he'd set close to her, she would end up playing with his hair, twirling it around one of her fingers like a child. Cloud and Tifa laughed when they came in one time, finding Vincent sitting in a chair with his back to her, while she braided his hair. Tifa even took a picture of it too, saying that it was something to add to their little scrap book. Tifa had found it interesting though, when she had seen Vincent attempting to braid Angel's hair for her. In her opinion, it was sweet. She was just glad to see her happy again.

The first time that Angel had attempted to get up out of bed, Vincent had to catch her. To his dismay, she nearly got sick, and had to lean against him for about 15 minutes. He didn't mind having her against him though, but he just didn't like seeing her sick.

The first time he left her alone though, Vincent came back in outrage.

"What are you doing? Get away from her!" he ordered, lashing out at the doctors as they were trying to take 'samples'. She was backed up in the corner of the bed crying, trying her best to stay away from the doctors.

"Please, there's no need to get mad, it's merely for search purposes" one doctor tried to explain, but that was the wrong thing to say to Vincent.

"Get…out…" he ordered, an eerie look in his eyes. At that, the doctors scrambled out of the room, running as far as they could.

Vincent went to the door, slamming it closed, locking it. When his eyes met Angel's, they softened, a sad emotion lacing them.

"Angel…" he whispered, walking over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her into his arms. "It's ok now, I won't let them come near you again" he told her, stroking the back of her head. She held onto him tightly, not wanting to let go.

"I want go…I want…go now" she cried, trying her best to hide within his arms. He let out a quiet sigh as he nodded his head.

"Okay…we'll go, we'll leave here" he told her, pulling her from the bed and cords. The moment he disconnected the cords, the monitors started going crazy, signaling that they had to leave quickly. "Let's get out of here" he said, grabbing up his tattered cloak, and running out of the room. He quickly held it around his neck, keeping one arm to hold Angel as he ran. "Angel, I need you to fasten this for me if you can" he said, glancing down at her for a moment. She nodded her head, reaching up to take hold of it in her hands. She had to look at it for a moment, before lining it up and fastening the buckles together. Once she had it secured properly, she wrapped her arms back around him.

As they turned a corner, doctors and other personal were running at them, shouting for them to stop. A few even had guns in their hands, making Angel cringe.

"Hold on" he told her, pulling her closer to him. She held on tightly as his cloak wrapped around them, flying over top of everyone and landing on the other side. Vincent kept running after that, even with the persistent shouts to stop. He wasn't going to let them get their hands on her again, he wasn't going to allow anyone to put her through something so traumatic ever again.

"Hey, what's going on out here yo?" a red haired man asked, walking out of a room, only to be nearly trampled by Vincent. "Hey! Watch where you're going man!" he shouted, turning around, and falling to the ground as a gun went off.

"AH!!!" Angel let out a scream as it grazed her arm, causing Vincent to growl in anger. "No stop, Vincent no stop" she demanded, making Vincent continue running. She put up a barrier as another one flew at them, causing it to bounce off. This left most of the people in shock, giving them a bit more time to run. Vincent made sure to take advantage of this and kept running. Unfortunately, all they had left now was a dead end with a window, but he wasn't going to let this stop him.

"Head down" he ordered, covering her up. Moments later, he broke through the window, falling through the sky. "Angel, open your wings" he told her, but she shook her head no. He looked around them. "Angel, we're falling too fast" he told her, holding onto her as he looked into her eyes. "I know it might hurt, but you need to open your wings. I'll take care of the rest, but you have to open your wings" he said. She swallowed, taking in a deep breath.

"Angel…help Vincent" she whispered into his ear, quickly wrapping her arms around his torso, and holding on. She let out a cry of pain as she opened her wings, the air quickly catching beneath them and sending them up.

"Just a little bit longer Angel" he told her, watching the painful look on her face.

All of a sudden, her wings gave out on her, flying upward like an umbrella. She let out a cry of pain as they plummeted downward. Moments later, she felt a hard jerk. Looking up at Vincent, she found him hanging onto the edge of a billboard, holding them up. He was panting as he hung there for a moment, letting go, and allowing them to fall onto the metal walk attached to it.

"I'm sorry, Vincent, I'm sorry" she cried "I couldn't hold on" she told him. He just shook his head, smiling faintly as he held onto her.

"No…you did good Angel…I…I'm proud of you" he said between breaths. "I'm just sorry…for…for being so heavy" he explained. This made her laugh. She smiled down at him, eyes a bit watery as she stared at him. After a few moments, she laid against him, nuzzling her face into his neck. She was so happy to be out of that place, and even better, she was with Vincent.

"Vincent, we go home now?" she asked, lifting her head up a bit to look at him.

"Yes, but first…somewhere safe" he told her.

T

Walking was the worst part of their journey as they made their way miles from ShinRa. Once it was safe enough, Vincent placed Angel on his back, giving his arms a chance to rest a bit.

As they continued to walk, Vincent could feel the warmth of Angel's breath on the back of his neck. It tickled a bit.

"Vincent?" Angel spoke softly, her voice flowing straight into Vincent's left ear.

"What is it?" he asked, keeping a firm hold on her legs as he trudged forward still. She waited for a moment before speaking again.

"Thank you" she whispered, kissing his cheek gently, before placing her head back on his shoulder. He stopped for a moment, just standing there. "Vincent?" she asked, looking at him strangely for a moment.

"We're going to have to stop soon" he said, walking forward again.

As they continued, Angel noticed a slight difference in his step. She didn't know what it was though, but she knew that something was there.

"Vincent?" she called his name, but he didn't answer her. He stopped though when she jumped off his back, landing clumsily on the ground.

"What are you doing?" he asked. This time, _she_ ignored _him_. She got down on her knees, poking at his leg a bit. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the slight change in facial expression on his face.

"Your leg…something wrong with it" she said, looking up at him.

"It's fine, let's keep moving" he said, turning around to walk off, but she grabbed hold of his leg.

"No" she stated firmly.

"I told you, I'm fine" he said, trying to convince her.

"Liar" she said, not believing him.

"Let's g-" he didn't finish because the moment he lifted his other leg to walk, she gave a sharp tug, causing him to fall to the ground. She made sure to sit on his back before he could try and get up, causing him to sigh. "Is this really necessary?" he asked, laying his head on top of his arms that now laid folded in front of him. She nodded her head in response.

"Yes" she said. He let out a faint groan upon hearing this, before rolling over and knocking her off of him. She whined at the fact of getting knocked off.

"Exactly what do you plan on doing then?" he asked, slight curiosity in his voice. He was answered by her tugging at his pant leg. "No" he stated, trying to sit up, only to have her push him back down.

"They need move" she said, purposely jabbing her finger against his leg. He grunted at the feeling of it, frowning at her.

"Stop that" he said, only to have her do it again, even harder this time.

"They need move" she repeated, getting ready to jab at it again. He quickly grabbed her wrist before she could make contact with it again though.

"Please…don't?" he asked, not wanting her to jab at his wounded leg again.

"Then they need move" she persisted, tugging at his pant leg again. He let out a sigh in defeat.

"Fine…" he groaned faintly, taking his shoes off. After he did that, he unbuckled his pants, getting them off with Angel's help. Right now, he was quite thankful for boxers.

Angel frowned when she finally saw his leg. A bullet had gone through the main muscle of his upper leg, another catching the side of his lower leg. He had been limping when he was carrying her. She sat there for a moment, before looking at her arm. The bandage on her shoulder was fairly fresh. She nodded to herself as she pulled it off, holding it in her hands as she brought it to his leg. The entire time, Vincent sat there watching her, slight intrigue in his eyes. She was growing up more and more.

Angel tied the bandage around his leg, wrapping it up the best that she could. She just wanted to help make him better, and that was the only thing on her mind at the moment. He groaned when she pulled it tight, making her look up at him.

"Sorry…" she said. When she was finished, she crawled up beside him, hugging him around his middle. "Better?" she asked. He nodded his head.

"Yes, thank you" he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded her head, resting it against him with a yawn. "We should be going now, we can rest when we're safe" he told her, receiving a low whine.

"Tired" she muttered against his shirt, curling up against him. He let out a faint chuckle when she did this.

"We need to get going, which means you need to get up so I can put my pants back on" he told her. She just whined again, slowly getting off of him. "That's my girl" he said, ruffling her hair a bit. She smiled at him.

Once he finally managed to get his pants back on, Angel lended him her shoulder, placing his arm over her. He chuckled at her actions, but let her help him nonetheless.

Two hours later, they finally made it to their destination. Angel was looking around all over the place, taking everything in. Crystals were all over the walls, glowing a faint green, and lighting the cave. She'd never seen anything like this before, it was beautiful. What caught her eye the most though, was a large crystal in the center of the cave. It was at the very back, surrounded by a small portion of water. A woman was inside of it.

Angel blinked a few times, slowly walking toward the woman. It was strange, the way that she was stuck inside of the crystal.

"Vincent…" she started, walking closer to the small lake. The feeling of the water on her feet didn't phase her as she walked in a bit further, the water was surrounding a quarter of her lower legs. "Who is she?" she asked, staring at the woman. Vincent came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and resting his chin on top of her shoulder. His quiet voice met her ears.

"Her name…is Lucrecia"

**I hope everyone liked this chapter. Please REVIEW and give me your feedback? Thanks for reading. Night everyone.**


	20. Lucrecia

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 20**

_Lucrecia?_

"Who is…Lucrecia?" Angel asked, turning her head up to look at him. He seemed to be thinking about whether to tell her or not. "Vincent?" she tried again.

"She's…an old friend of mine…from a long time ago" he said, gazing down at her with a small smile on his face. She smiled at him, leaning back against him, her arms resting on his. She let out a quiet yawn as she closed her eyes, fatigue starting to kick in. Vincent noticed and quickly grabbed her up, causing her to let out a startled squeal. He laughed at her, plopping down on the ground, sitting her in front of him. She shoved his arm playfully, before laying back against him.

"This…where you go when upset?" she asked, looking up at him. He seemed to stiffen for a moment at the question.

"How do you…"

"Cloud and Tifa talk too much" she said, laughing. He let out a sigh, before nodding his head.

"Yes, occasionally, I do" he admitted, brushing his thumb back and forth over the side of her arm.

"Can…I come too?" she asked, watching as his brows furrowed a bit.

"You…want to come here again?" he asked. She nodded her head.

"I want come again" she said, turning her body a bit to lay against him some more. He smiled faintly, holding her against him.

"Alright…I'll bring you with me next time" he said, causing her to smile.

"Thank you…Vincent" she whispered "I like Vincent…lots and lots" she said, yawning again. He felt the pulling of his lips when he heard her say this.

"I love you too" he whispered faintly, stroking the back of her head as she laid in his arms resting. Unknown to them, the woman inside the crystal seemed to be smiling at them.

†

Angel sat at the edge of the water, staring at the isolated woman. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she was drawn to her. It was like she had seen her before, but she didn't know why.

"Why so familiar?" she whispered quietly. She then squinted her eyes a bit, catching sight of something near the crystal. Curiosity got the better of her, and she soon found herself wadding through the water toward it. She had completely forgotten about her fear of water as she drew closer. When she finally reached it, the water was at least up to her neck. What she found beside the crystal was a small white orb; materia. As she picked it up, she looked up at the woman again. "Why so familiar?" she whispered again, carefully placing her hand against the crystal. The moment she touched it, her eyes went wide, her breath catching in her throat.

_Light flooded in from the windows, lighting part of the floors, and giving the lab a bit more life. Computers were all over the place, systems scanning files and beeping every now and then. A young woman was staring at something in a tank. It was a small child. The child couldn't have been more than maybe 4 years old at the most. The little girl in the tank also wore a small bracelet on her wrist, the name "Angel" inscribed on it._

Vincent didn't know why, but something caused him to wake up. Though when he woke up, he found that Angel wasn't beside him.

"Angel?" he called, looking around. His eyes then landed on the crystal that Lucrecia was incased in. Angel was standing in front of it, her hand touching it. He got up immediately, crossing over toward the water. "Angel?" he called, but she didn't answer. In fact, she didn't even seem to be breathing. "Angel!" he called, quickly trudging through the water to her. He grabbed a hold of her, pulling her away from Lucrecia's crystal, and back onto safe ground. When he looked at her, he found her eyes glazed over, breath still. He tried shaking her a bit, before placing his mouth against hers, blowing air into her lungs. After a few tries, she shot up, gasping for air and coughing.

"Vincent…" she whispered, before latching onto him, hugging him. The materia in her hand fell to the ground when she did this, sitting a few inches in front of Vincent. He looked at it strangely, slowly picking it up in his hand. It looked familiar in a way, like he had seen something like it once before. Only thing is, he'd never seen this in the cave before.

"Angel, what happened? What were you doing over there?" he asked, gripping her shoulders lightly.

"I see her" she said "familiar…I see her" she repeated. This confused Vincent. Just like always, if she was excited, scared, or distressed her words came out in a mess.

"Calm down" he told her, stroking her cheek gently. "Now, tell me again, what happened?" he asked. She sighed, looking up at him, before pointing to Lucrecia.

"Familiar" she said "I see before…she is familiar to Angel" she said, taking in a breath of air. Vincent paused for a moment.

"Lucrecia…you've seen her before?" he asked, receiving a nod from her.

"Yes, Lucrecia I've seen" she told him. This completely through him for a loop.

"But…that was at least…30 years ago" he whispered quietly to himself. Angel tilted her head in confusion.

"30 years?" Angel asked. Vincent turned away for a moment.

"I have to find those files" he said, looking down at her as he debated whether or not to ask. Deciding to do so, he asked her a question. "There's a place I have to go…you might not like it if you see it though…but…would you still want to come with me?" he asked. Angel sat there for a moment, trying to figure out what this place was.

"Where is it?" she asked, noticing the wary look in his eyes.

"It's…where we first met" he said, watching the sudden change in her face. For a moment, she almost seemed to start backing away, but she stopped. Before he could say anything else, she had her face buried against his chest.

"The bad place…the bad place with many memories? You asked go there?" she asked quietly.

"Yes" his voice held a sadness as he spoke, knowing the distress the place would cause her. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. "I promise to keep you safe" he assured her, whispering into her ear as he stroked her hair, trying to calm her.

"Promise keep me safe?" she muttered. Vincent nodded his head.

"I promise" he said, pulling her back a bit to look down at her. She looked up at him, eyes a bit watery as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I swear, nothing will happen to you" he said, staring down into her eyes. She blushed faintly, before leaning up a bit and kissing him. The corner of his lips pulled a bit as she did this, closing his eyes for a moment as he returned the kiss.

"Then, I follow Vincent…I follow you" she said softly after pulling away.

"Thank you" he whispered, pulling her against him as he held her close to him. "Although, I think that first, we should sneak back and get you some dry clothes" he said chuckling.

†

Angel had found it funny that they had to sneak into the bar. To her, it was just odd. Although as soon as she had gotten changed, they left, leaving for the abandoned mansion of ShinRa.

The mansion held an eerie feeling to it as Angel and Vincent made their way through it. At every sound, Angel jumped. Every crack, squeak, or groan, it didn't matter to her as it was all the same. They weren't even down to the basement yet and she was already uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, you're fine" Vincent reassured her, turning one of the sharp corners of the hall. "It's over here" he said, pointing out the old entrance at the back of the hallway. Angel followed beside him as they came to the entrance, standing there for a moment. "Here" he said, holding his hand out for her, which she gratefully took. After that, they descended down into the darkness of the basement.

†

The only light that was produced, came from a small window, covered and smeared in dust and grime. This only proved to make Angel even more uncomfortable. The darkness itself freaked her out, causing her to hold onto Vincent's arm.

"I don't like this place" she whined, her eyes shifting all over the place.

"I promise, nothing bad is going to happen" he told her, ruffling her hair slightly. He knew that it would put a smile on her face, and it did. "The files are over here" he said, pointing to a small office. It wasn't very big, so she stood outside the door, looking around still. Deciding that she wanted more light, she went over to the window, climbing up on a few boxes to reach it. She tugged her sleeve over her hand, using it to scrub at the dirty window. Soon, light started pouring into the room, driving away some of the shadows. She smiled happily when she saw that it wasn't as dark anymore. The added light also allowed her to see some of the stuff she wasn't able to see before.

When she got down off of the boxes, she found herself staring at a few things in particular. She nearly backed up into some of the equipment in the room as her eyes landed on a certain set of tools, surgical tools to be exact. She remembered these same tools as the ones that had been used to cut into her so many times before. She remembered the pain that they had caused her through the years. She nearly fell to the floor when her hand landed on a tray of them behind her, causing her to cry out. Vincent came running when he heard her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, seeing the look of distress on her face. She gave a faint nod, backing away from everything. When she turned around though, she let out a shriek, falling to the floor. Quickly, she started backing away until she ran into Vincent. Her whole body was shaking as she stared at the creature inside the tank. It was terribly deformed and disfigured, and looked like it had been combined with multiple things.

Vincent got down beside her as she started freaking out, pulling her into his arms, trying to hide her eyes from what was before her. For Angel, it was like being thrown into a nightmare, a terrible nightmare of traumatic memories.

**Finally, chapter 20! I hope everyone enjoyed reading this and I hope to get feedback. Please REVIEW? Thank you everyone. Bye bye.**


	21. Memories Forgotten

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 21**

**Memories Forgotten**

By far, nothing could compare to what was going through her mind at the moment. There were so many dreadful thoughts and memories in her mind that were trigger upon seeing the figure in the tank.

_Angel laid there, strapped to a steel table. She was crying as she laid there, warm salty tears falling from her eyes._

"_Now my dear, why cry? There's really no point in it save for my enjoyment" the man she knew as Hojo bellowed. In her opinion, he was pure evil. If she could have screamed out any words, then she would have, but she couldn't talk. All that she could do was scream as he ran a scalpel across her arm, blood slowly coming out and running down the side of her arm onto the cold table. He merely grinned at her, enjoying her pain as he cut into her skin, scarring it terribly._

_Things were even worse when he had his assistants help him, but one doctor Lucrecia Cresent never took part in it. Any time that Angel would see the woman, Lucrecia would turn away in shame. She was saddened knowing what was being done to Angel daily._

"Angel?"

_All that Angel could do was lay there screaming as people into her back. She couldn't even fight back as she was restrained to the table. They were trying to reconstruct the muscles in her back to continue with another experiment._

"_That's it, scream. Fill my ears with your wondrous screams" Hojo said laughing._

"Angel?" Vincent called her name, her eyes seeming to roll into the back of her head as her body starting to become limp against him.

_Angel laid there weakly on the table no restrains keeping her down as she listened to the horrid sound of a man screaming. Although, it sounded like the painful screams of a demon, another experiment of Hojo's. From the name Hojo had used before, Angel knew him as Chaos._

_Moments later, Hojo came walking into the room, Lucrecia following right behind him as she yelled at him._

"_What do you think that you're doing? Haven't you already done enough to him!? Why couldn't you just have left his body alone!?" Lucrecia yelled, only to receive a slap across the face._

"_Don't you ever contradict me again" he told her, walking over to Angel. She just looked at him tiredly. At this point, she could barely even move because she was so tired. Her body was completely drained of energy thanks to Hojo. "Now…" he started, grabbing hold of Angel's wrist and pulling her up off of the table. She cried out as she fell to the floor on her knees, unable to walk. He merely pulled her to her feet with a hard tug of her wrist. "Let's see how well you can hold up against one of my newest creations" Hojo said, grinning maliciously._

_Hojo threw her into a darkened room. The bright light came on moments later, blinding her for a few moments. She let out a scream when she was faced with a roar._

_Before her stood a large black and blue monster with red horns. It looked like it was a mix between a rhino and a dog. She started moving back weakly, crawling on her hands and knees. It soon charged at her, causing her to scream. She wrapped her arms around herself, covering her head as she curled up on the floor. The beast let out a whine when it was shoved away._

_What happened was a result of an internal reaction from her body and fears._

Vincent injected something into Angel's arm, watching her shaking body slowly calm. He didn't know what was going on inside her head, but he knew that if it kept up, it would likely give her a heart attack. He'd have to take her back to Lucrecia's cavern and then come back for the files.

†

Vincent stared down at Angel, her head laying in his lap. She'd been sleeping soundly for the past 3 or 4 hours. He was glad that she was asleep as he looked through the files. He had grabbed any and all files relating to or concerning her. He had also grabbed any and all files that he could find among the wreckage about Lucrecia and her participation of the experiments. He was shocked at some of the stuff that he had found. Among them, he had found out that Angel was growing as a small child when he was still working there. She had been but an innocent little girl, created by the distorted mind of Hojo.

After thinking about things, he found that he had a very faint memory of a two year old child being there. A little girl with a golden bracelet inscribed with the name _'Angel' on it. _He faintly remembered a day when he had come in seeing Lucrecia with a small child in her arms.

"_Good morning Doctor Cresent" Vincent greeted, his eyes landing on the child. His brows furrowed a bit. "Who's that?" he asked, walking over to her. She smiled at him as she bounced the little girl on her knee._

"_Her name is Angel" she said as the little girl laughed. "You look like you'd be good with children, so here" she said, holding the little girl out to him._

"_I don't know about that one" he started, but stopped once she was in his arms. He looked down at the small child strangely, holding her out a few inches in front of him. The little girl known as Angel looked up at him, tilting her head to the side. There was something about her golden eyes, which seemed to look into his soul. His eyes softened, a small smile pulling at his lips when she reached her small hand out and touched his face. There was so much innocence inside this one little girl that seemed to pull at his heart. That was when he realized something. His eyes darkened as he looked at Lucrecia. "Hojo…?" he asked, staring at her. Lucrecia averted her eyes, giving a solemn nod._

"_Y-yes…"she whispered. He looked down at the little girl sadly, pulling her against his front in an embrace. She giggled, trying to hug back._

"_I'll get you out of here someday little one" he spoke softly into her ear for only her to hear. Although, he knew that she might not fully understand him, he still said it anyway. When she looked up at him, he knew that she had heard him._

_Moments later, someone burst into the room yelling._

"_Where is she!?" Hojo yelled furiously. His eyes darted around the room, Vincent in front of him. Even with Vincent's back to him, Hojo still saw the small hand on Vincent's neck, since his hair was too short to cover it. "You!" he shouted at Vincent, grabbing him by the shoulder harshly and turning him around. Vincent was nearly thrown off balance by Hojo. He held Angel against him as he stepped away from Hojo. "Give her to me boy" Hojo demanded, but Vincent shook his head no. The moment that Angel landed her eyes on Hojo she started to cry. Apparently, she knew what seeing him would mean for her and she did not like it._

_Angel screamed when Hojo grabbed hold of her arm tightly, tearing her from Vincent's arms._

"_Hojo, stop it!" Lucrecia yelled, coming forward. "I'm the one that took her" she said, coming to stand before him. Angel cried as she hung a few feet from the floor by her arm, wanting to be put down and left alone. Hojo just gave a short growl, before being hit in the gut by Vincent, who grabbed hold of Angel._

"_I've got you" Vincent whispered softly. Moments later, Hojo pulled a gun out on him, causing Angel to cry even more. Vincent wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from Hojo._

"_Do that again _boy_, and this gun will be putting a bullet through your head" he said._

"_You're a monster" Vincent growled through his teeth._

"_And what a monster I am" Hojo said, laughing in Vincent's face._

"_Hojo, just leave them alone" Lucrecia said, stepping in front of Vincent. "Just leave the child be and let her have a normal life" she exclaimed, but Hojo wouldn't hear of it. He just laughed at it._

"_A normal life? A normal life!?" he shouted. "She's my experiment! That is her life and nothing else" he yelled at her, glaring at the little girl in Vincent's arms as she cried. "Quiet!" he yelled. That only made things worse, scaring Angel and making her cry even more._

"_Vincent, get her out of here" Lucrecia told him keeping a close eye on Hojo. Slowly, Vincent made his way to the door, running out with Angel in his arms. She was crying the entire time._

"_Shh…shh…it's alright little one, I've got you" he cooed softly to her, calming her down a bit as she held onto him. In his arms, she seemed to stop crying after a while. It was like he had an unknown effect about him that put her at ease, a quick bond forming._

_Unfortunately, Vincent didn't make it very far down the hall, before he was stop by his fellow turks._

"_Stop right there Valentine and hand over the girl" one of them said. Vincent shook his head no though, not wanting to give Angel up as he knew exactly what would happen to her. Annoyed, one of they reached out, grabbing hold of Angel as the other came behind him, hitting him in the back of the head. Angel screamed and cried as she was once again hanging by her arm above the ground._

_Soon, they took her away, leaving Vincent to lay there in pain and sorrow._

Angel slowly opened her eyes to a wetness hitting her face. When she looked up, she found a few tears falling from Vincent's eyes. This made her sad. "Vincent?" she called his name, but got no response. "Vincent…?" she called quietly, turning in his lap to hug him. She held onto him.

"Angel?" came the sound of Vincent's voice. She looked up at him smiling as she sat up.

"Vincent was crying…" she said. He looked at her strangely when she said this, quietly taking his hand, and placing on his face. Indeed, he found a slight wetness on his face. He didn't understand how though. "Vincent…sad about something?" she asked him, staring up at him. He had remembered the dream and knew exactly why he was like this. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about her all those years ago. Maybe that's why they had that strange attachment to each other in the beginning. He was still upset though that he hadn't been able to get her out of there all those years ago. A small child, left with the likes of Hojo himself, the mad scientist. Vincent felt ashamed and saddened that she had been put through all of that as a child.

"Do not worry, I'm fine" he informed her, giving her a faint smile to try and reassure her the best that he could. She seemed to accept it thankfully.

"Vincent sleepy head" Angel said, laughing at him. He let out a chuckle at this.

"Yes, I suppose that I am, aren't I?" he asked. His response was simply a nod from her, but it didn't bother him any at all.

"Very big sleepy head" she said, smiling at him.

"After watching you for so long, I would say so" he said. She merely stuck her tongue out at him like a child, before hugging him. He smiled at her, pulling her against him a bit more as he placed a kiss upon her forehead.

**Ok everyone, there's chapter 21. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. I hope to get some more up soon, maybe sometime this coming week, but I'm not sure. Please, remember to REVIEW? I'd like to see what everyone thought about this chapter. It will help me in making the next chapter, depending on the feedback and comments that I get back from people. So please, remember to REVIEW? Have a nice day everyone and pleasant reading. Bye bye.**


	22. Spelling Lessons Tears and Discoveries

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 22**

**Spelling Lessons, Tears, and New Discoveries**

Angel smiled as she laid there curled up against Vincent. She was happy and content. For a moment, she was completely free of worry. She just laid there, watching him read through the files for which she was unable to read.

"Vincent?" she called his name softly.

"Hm?" he asked, glancing down at her as he paused in his reading. He noticed that she had a curious look on her face.

"What does it say?" she asked. He grimaced at the question that had just escaped her gentle lips. She glanced up at the papers in his hands. The words looked completely foreign to her, save the few spots that she could recognize her name was spelled out. He didn't want to answer her.

"You still can't read, can you?" he asked, trying to change the subject. She shook her head no, staring curiously at the papers in his hands. Vincent carefully put the papers away, tucking them away from her curious eyes. He then pulled her in front of him, his chest pressing lightly against her back. He rested his chin on her shoulder as he leaned forward, bringing his clawed hand to rake against the ground, forming shapes. She watched carefully, her eyes taking in every stroke that he made with his fingertips.

_Vincent Valentine_

She looked down at the lines in the dirt curiously.

"What's that?" she asked. He pulled her against his just a bit more before speaking.

"My name…Vincent Valentine" he told her, watching as she traced her fingertips over the letters, following the shapes that he had made. He took her hand, guiding it over each letter, telling her what each letter was. He then carved her name into the dirt below his.

_Angel_

She smiled at him.

"My name?" she asked, smiling up at him. He nodded his head.

"Yes" he said. He watched as she pointed to the first letter.

"What's this one?" she asked.

"That's an 'a'" he said. He watched as her face turned to one of confusion.

"But it different from this one" she pointed out, pointing to the one in his name.

"Yes, but it's still the same Angel" he explained, drawing a few more letters into the dirt. He carved out the entire alphabet before her.

_Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz_

He pointed to a few of them that looked the same, only bigger.

"See, these are the same, they're just bigger" he explained.

"What's this one?" she asked, pointing to a curvy one.

"That's called an 'S'" he said. She seemed to think for a moment, before trying to draw something in the dirt.

_632_

He looked at it strangely, wondering why she had wrote it. She looked up at him.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to the ground.

"Those are numbers. Those in particular are 6, 3, and 2" he told her, before leaning forward a bit more. "Why did you choose those?" he questioned.

"I remember…those 'numbers' mentioned often…I saw a few times" she explained quietly. She looked over at the folders that Vincent had attempted to hide from her, grabbing one in her hands. "It was one of these" she told him, watching as his brows furrowed slightly.

"A file?" he inquired, watching her nod.

"They mentioned it when testing Angel…me…place me in room with monsters…" she whispered. He pulled her to him, holding her against him as he closed his eyes. She hugged his arm as she rested against him. "It was scary…" her voice nearly caught in her throat.

"It's alright" he whispered, placing his chin on top of her head, rubbing her arm with his thumb gently.

"You read about what they did?" she asked quietly. He hesitated for a moment before answering her.

"Yes…" he admitted. She went quiet for a moment.

"Why?" That was one question that he wished she hadn't asked him. He knew that he could not lie to her about it. So, he drew in a small breath.

"I wanted to know…what I…had failed to protect you from" his voice was but a faint whisper that hung loosely in the air. She turned her head to look up at him, a question within her mismatched eyes. "I met you once before…a long time ago when you were very small" he told her. She had something on the tip of her tongue, a memory of a person. She turned around in his arms, looking up at him.

"Nice man…in the suit" she breathed out. He gave her a weak smile, nodding his head.

"Yes…" She looked like she was going to cry as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. "I'm sorry…" he whispered into her ear, holding her close as she shook faintly.

"Why did you disappear?" she asked quietly. He stayed quiet as he sat there with her in his arms, debating on what to say to her. How was he to explain that it was because he had tried to help her…tried to protect her? It was the very thing that got him shot. He had tried standing up for her in her defense. That was why he had 'disappeared'.

"It's…hard to explain" he started slowly, trying to pick his words carefully.

"The bad man…" she whispered, catching him off guard.

"Yes…" his voice echoed quietly around her.

"He…hurt you…because of me" she whimpered faintly. To say that he was a bit shocked was an understatement. Although, she was a lot smarter than she knew.

"Angel" he whispered, pulling her back a bit to look into her eyes. He gently whipped away her watery eyes, crystal forming on his leather glove. "I chose to speak out against him…for you" he told her, placing his forehead against hers. "It was a decision that I made to try and protect you"

She stared at him, watching his red, crimson pooling eyes.

"I'm only sorry that I failed my job" he said, kissing her forehead gently.

"I missed you…" she whispered. "Never disappear again" she told him, holding onto him.

"I promise" he told her, holding her close to him, letting her rest there in the safety of his arms. He would make sure that he kept his promise to her.

**Finally, chapter 22. I apologize for it being so short, but that's where I had to end this one. I hope that everyone enjoyed it though. Also, this time, I'm asked for at least 3-5 REVIEWS before I will update this story. I'm pretty sure that I can easily get that, since everyone seems to like this story so much. I check my account daily, so as long as I see reviews, the next chapter should be up shortly. Although, as usual still subject to delay slightly as a result of college, but I'll still try my best. I hope everyone has fun reading my stories, including this one and others that I've written. Until next time, pleasant reading. If anyone has any suggestions on my stories, feel free to mail me or just review if that's all that you can do. Thank you everyone.**


	23. File 632

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 23**

The numbers 632 kept repeating in his head as he sat with Angel. Those numbers were likely the key to solving one of her larger mysteries, if not at least part of one. As he sat there, he looked through a few more of the files, every now and then glancing down at Angel as she slept. She'd been sleeping a lot more often lately and he wasn't sure why.

"File 632," he whispered, skimming over a portion of one of the pages that mentioned the file. His eyes glanced down at Angel again, his gloved hand raising and meeting the side of her cheek as he stroked it gently. A small smile formed on his face, before his eyes wavered, catching something on the paper.

There was a tab that stuck out slightly near the back. Pulling it loose, he found it to be a shocking list of monsters that she'd been placed with at times for _observation_ purposes.

_Acrophies_

_Bandersnatch_

_Behemoth_

_Bomb_

_Cuahl_

_Doorbull_

_Gighee_

_Gremlin_

_Guard Hound_

_Kalm Fang_

_Nibel Wolf_

_Sneaky Step_

_Zenene_

Those were some of the monsters that she had been placed with, left to defend herself. As he looked at this list though, he noticed that some of them had been crossed out, but he didn't know why.

All of the files were lain strewn across the cave floor, some of them in small piles as he went through them. Unable to get the thought of file 632 out of his head, he continued searching. Finally, after searching through most of them he found it.

This file was one of the very few that were actually black. "_632 Classified_" was printed on the front of it in white and red. At this point he wasn't sure if he actually dared to venture into it, afraid of what he might find. He knew though that he had to find out what happened to her, what she had been put through, and what she could do if they had ever actually discovered it.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he opened the file, pictures falling out of every monster she'd ever faced. She'd been placed against beast types, machine types, aquatic types, bird types, even other experiments such as the Acrophies. To Hojo, it didn't matter, he threw anything and everything at the poor girl from the time that she was small. Even just to simply torment and scare her, not always hurt her physically, but definitely scar and hurt her mentally and emotionally. What Vincent found interesting and unusual though was that apparently not all of the monsters Hojo tried to set on her actually attacked her. There were a few types in particular that for some reason actually tried to protect her, specifically the wolves such as the Bandersnatch, Kalm Fang, and Nibel Wolf. There was something about the child that these feral wolves were drawn to.

Vincent became so engrossed with what he was doing, he didn't even notice Angel was awake and watching him. She just laid there, her head resting on his lap as she looked up at him, one of his hands subconsciously running through her hair every now and then. It wasn't until she yawned that he was actually alerted of her watching him.

"Angel…" he whispered, not realizing that she'd been awake. He looked down at her, trying to pull off a small smiled, but she could tell that something was bothering him.

"Vin Vin?" she called his name, crawling up til she was in his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck and her head nestling into the crook of his neck.

He let out a content sigh as she let out a small yawn, cuddling against him affectionately. This made him want to smile as he wrapped his arms around her, moving to kiss her forehead, making her giggle.

"Vincent…what that you look at?" she asked, pointing down at the file. She could feel him stiffen slightly as they sat there, causing her to reach a hand up and place it on his face, her finger running gently over his lips. "Vin Vin?" she tilted her head to the side, looking up at the red eyed man that she loved so much. It was this that made him finally speak, though his tone was anything but happy.

"File 632…" he spoke quietly, watching the look on his angel's face turn from one of loving compassion to slight fear and uncertainty.

"6…3, 2?" she shivered, looking down at the array of papers, the pictures catching her eye. She stopped at a few in particular that she recalled from the past. The Bandersnatch was one of them, the snowy blond maned wolf. Her fingers traced that of the Behemoth, before finding their way to the Gremlin where she flinched. Vincent could tell right away that she'd had a bad experience with said monster. He watched as she shivered, a memory making its way into her mind.

_Angel sat there, a small child as she was faced with a cruel monster. Hojo had placed her in a room with this creature simply to torment and scare the poor child senseless._

_This time the monster in question was what the man called a Gremlin. It was an ugly green creature with beady black eyes, large bat like ears on its head, webbed feet, and on its three fingered hands, sharp purple claws were present. All in all, this creature scared her, but the Zenene and Sneaky Step did far worse at times. The Gremlin was merely sent in to scare the snot out of the poor child, leaving scratches and gashes all over her trembling body from the vile beast._

_Hojo's malicious laugh echoed through the room as Angel laid on the floor crying, her body curled into a ball as she attempted to protect herself from scratches caused by the Gremlin. This didn't do her much good though as the despicable thing clawed at her arms and legs, cutting them._

"Angel," came the rhythmic sound of Vincent's voice, pulling her from her dreaded memory from many years ago as a child.

She blinked away tears as she looked down at the picture, shoving it away from her as she curled up against Vincent for warmth. The warmth brought a small smile to her face, despite the fear that she now remembered for the creature she had seen in the picture.

"Gremlin…" she whispered, the sound of her soft voice making its way to Vincent well tuned ears.

"Yes…how did you know?" he inquired, gazing down at her small form as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Angel…remember monster," she whispered, trying to whip away the oncoming tears as they turned to shining crystals. "Bad man…make Angel fear," she told him, looking up into his crimson pools. These were the eyes that she had fallen in love with and loved dearly, along with the man behind them.

"So… you _do_ remember these beasts," he whispered to himself, before looking back down at his little angel. His thoughts then turned to that of the Bandersnatch. "Angel…what can you tell me about Bandersnatch?" he asked quietly, making her look up at him.

"Bandersnatch," she whispered, rummaging through her mind to memories of the creature. "Doggy?" she asked, looking up at her friend.

Vincent nodded his head, inclining it toward the picture of the snowy wolf, bringing the picture to rest in front of his angel.

"Bandersnatch," he repeated, tapping his middle finger against the picture. He watched the look on her face carefully as it turned to one of understanding, her eyes looking up at him in recollection.

"Bandersnatch…nice monster, not bad," she said, licking her upper lip slightly as she thought, speech reverting to slightly simpler terms at the moment. "Bandersnatch protect Angel," she told him, her right hand curling around his clawed one, looking down at the sharp digits for some reason or another. She pulled his hand up a bit, moving it as though mimicking a striking action. "Bandersnatch," she preformed the action again before continuing with, "bad man."

"It attacked Hojo?" Vincent asked, watching her play with his clawed appendage.

Angel nodded her head in response. She then sat there for a few more moment, before she looked up at Vincent.

"Bandersnatch eyes…Chaos," she said, watching as he gave her a slightly quizzical look.

"You mean its eyes were golden like Chaos' eyes?" he asked, watching her nod her head yes.

Angel wished that she could tell him more about what she remembered, but she didn't know the words. The Bandersnatch had been a rather nice monster to her compared to most of the others. Thinking of that, she delve deeper into her memories.

_Angel sat in a darkened room, sounds of various growls echoing around her. It scared her, her head turning in different directions, trying to find out where they were coming from. It was like a routine for Hojo, throwing her in a room with monsters merely to scare or punish her. Should she ever fight back against him, her punishment would be severe._

_One such day was when he attempted to set a Bandersnatch on her. He was furious because she had hit him while he was trying to take one of many samples from her skin. Enraged, he threw her in a medium sized cage with what he thought to be a vicious Bandersnatch. He was mistaken though when the beast curled its body around the crying child. When he had tried to remove her from the beast's care, it lashed out at him, trying to attack him._

Angel giggled at the memory, a small smile forming on her face. This caused Vincent to give her a curious look, which she merely greeted with a smile.

"Bad man made funny face," she said, remembering quite clearly the look on the man's face when the Bandersnatch tried to attack him. It wasn't always a laughing matter though. Especially, when it gave Hojo more ideas to experiment with. It was this thought that made Angel quiet down.

Since Hojo had never seen someone who could actually control such beasts, it made him experiment with Angel further. He had thrown other beasts into the equation just to watch them fight one another, to see the bloodshed and the effect that it had upon Angel. All of it was for Hojo's benefit and amusement.

"Vincent?" came the sound of Angel's voice as it reached Vincent's ears. He looked down at her, showing her that she had his attention. "Read one?" she asked softly, wanting to know what was in the file. He gave her a hesitant look though, unsure if he should actually allow her to hear any of what was in the file.

"Just one," he told her, not wishing for her to hear everything that might be written down.

"_Lately, I've be experimenting with a few things. I want to find out how far I can push her before she actually starts trying to use her powers. I've tried many things lately, even the usual torture. All I get out of her are those luscious screams of hers that fill me with joy. I've been playing with the construction of her muscles, reordering them to a degree to improve her physique. I still have yet to understand what is so bloody special about her though that those blasted wolves seem to love. Any other creature would rather tear my little angel to shreds. It is quite annoying when they won't listen to me or follow their normal instincts. However, I will admit that it is rather amusing to watch them fight over her. Especially, when you throw something as large as a Behemoth or two into the mix. Now that is truly entertaining. As long as she has enough strength, she seems to be able to outrun and out maneuver some of the beasts, though not all of them of course."_

Vincent stopped there, not wanting to go further, since Hojo had described exactly how he had experimented with some things. When he looked down, he found Angel staring intently at the paper, regardless if she could actually read it or not.

**Okay everyone, that was the LONG awaited chapter 23. I'm sorry that it took so long to get out, but I had been kind of stuck for a while. I had to reread everything several times before I was able to start writing again. I hope all of you liked this chapter. As always, please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me like before. I love hearing everyone's opinions on this story. Also, check my PROFILE for links to view what the monsters I mentioned in here look like. Check my PROFILE also to view my other stories such as KNIGHT HUNTER'S WEISS KREUZ for Schuldig (I'm really trying to get more people to read this and review), ESCAFLOWNE for Folken, X-MEN for Gambit, FRUITS BASKET, FMA, and MORE! Also, remember that I'm always open to advice about my story and any ideas that anyone might have to liven them up or make them better. Thanks everyone and sorry about the wait.**


	24. Understanding Love

**A Project Called Angel**

**Chapter 24**

**Understanding Love**

A/N: song for this story **Why** from **Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core Soundtrack.**

**Please listen to it while reading? **You can find it on youtube.

Angel smiled as she held Vincent's hand, their fingers intertwined. It was such a simple thing that she found happiness in.

As they walked together, she couldn't help, but to keep that smile on her face. Even despite the current pain that she still held in her wings, she was happy. Not to mention, the previous night had been free of Sephiroth's dark presence. Vincent had kept her safe in his arms all night long in the cave, protecting her from her nightmares.

"Vin Vin," she called, tugging on his sleeve.

"Hm?" Vincent questioned as he looked down at her. He found a playful look upon her face that seemed to reach her intricate eyes. He slowly rose an eyebrow at this, but it didn't take long before she ran ahead of him, turning around and smiling at him. "You want me to chase you?"

Vincent let loose a chuckle from his throat as he shook his head slightly, before stepping forward, his pace slowly building speed. There was a slight smile on his face forming as he kept his crimson eyes on his little angel. Her smile and laughter lit his cold heart, warming it from the inside out. How he loved his little angel. He wished to keep her with him forever. He would forever be at her side, for however long fate would allow him. He would never leave her no matter what the cost.

"Vincent!" Angel cried out in laughter as he caught hold of her, wrapping his arms around her tiny form. She smiled as he pulled her against his chest, whispering in her ear.

"Got you," he said, the velvet sound of his voice becoming music to her ears.

"Vincent," she smiled, turning her head upward to look at him, finding those crimson orbs of his staring down at her. It made her happy to see the color of his eyes, the soul of his being. To most people, Vincent's eyes would seem cold, but to Angel they were warm and welcoming. They held love within their deep depths that surrounded and enveloped her with their presence. She felt as though she belonged.

"I love you…," he whispered into her awaiting ear.

She turned her head slightly in curiosity, making him smile warmly at her.

"What is…love?" she asked, staring up at him with curiosity.

Vincent wasn't sure what to tell her to make her understand, until a thought came into his mind. He lifted her hand and placed it over his heart, pressing it there against his chest. She stared at him for a moment before closing her eyes, concentrating on what she felt. Beneath her hand she felt the faint beat of his heart thumping against his chest, the felling meeting her hand. Angel then placed her ear to his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. After a moment or two she pulled away, placing her hand over her own heart, a faint beating thumping against her hand. This made her smile as she grasped Vincent's hand in hers, placing it over her heart.

"It's inside you," Vincent told her. She then looked up at him, trying to put pieces together. To help her along, he slowly drew her forward, pressing his lips against hers. He felt her lips part slightly as she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. It was something that set her soul on fire, but put her at ease at the same time. "I don't do this with anyone else," he explained as he pulled away slightly, gazing down into her eyes.

It was then that it clicked, realization hitting her. She didn't do that with anyone else either. It was something special that was just between her and Vincent. The feeling that it gave her on the inside was warm and wonderful, she didn't feel that way with anyone else, just Vincent. It was _only_ for Vincent, _her_ Vincent, her _love_.

He watched as her eyes widened slightly with that realization, her eyes becoming slightly teary. A smile formed though as she turned her gaze toward him.

"Angel…love Vincent," she whispered, a soft look in her eyes. She then shook her head for a moment before correcting herself. "No…_I _love Vincent," she said more firmly. "I love you."

This was all that it took to make Vincent's heart race. He now knew that she loved him, truly loved him, and _knew_ what it was that she felt. She now understood what it meant to love, not like, but love.

"I love you too," he whispered, pulling her against his body and kissing her softly, but with a passion to match that of his heart. "I love you so much…," he whispered, brushing a bit of hair out of her face. How he loved his little angel, how he loved her dearly.

"Vincent?" she called, a faint hint of mischief in her eyes.

"Hm?" he was then answered by her pulling his bandana down over his eyes, a sweet and heavenly laugh escaping her angelic lips. At this, he let out a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a laugh. "I'll give you to the count of 3 to run," he announced, listening to the quick sounds of her running feet.

_One…_

_Two…_

_Three…_

He pulled his bandana down around his neck, before setting off after her, running after the source of his affection. He ran after his little angel, her laughs echoing in the air as her feet padded forward. They were so happy together as they played around, chasing one another, and rolling around on the ground.

After a couple hours of this, Angel was finally on the ground, Vincent hovering over top of her with his hands on either side of her. She giggled as his long raven locks brushed her skin, tickling it.

"Say you love me one more time," he whispered softly, his nose touching the tip of her own.

"I love you," she smiled, staring up into his eyes with her mismatched orbs as she watched a smile break loose over his lips. It was then that he bent down and kissed her on the mouth, his eyes closing as he savored the feel of her lips on his, his hand running through her hair.

She just laid there in sweet bliss as she kissed him back with equal passion, her hands making their own way into his long black mane, her fingers combing through it. She was so happy as she laid there kissing him back, her heart pounding wildly as a show of her love. A milky white crystal tear escaping her eye even from her happiness.

"I love you," she breathed, nuzzling her cheek against his as she laid there, the sweetness of the moment like honey on her tongue. She honestly had no clue just how happy she had made the man before her, a man whom had been deprived of such love and affection for so long, a man whom had longed for ages to feel such things, a man who's heart had been broken and in need of healing. She was giving him the love the he craved for, the love that he had longed for, the affection that he needed, and the love to mend his broken and bleeding heart. She soothed his soul and calmed the devil within him, she gave him a second chance in life, she gave him love.

**Okay everyone, that was chapter 24. I REALLY hope that everyone enjoyed this one. Please REVIEW and MESSAGE me on how you liked it and what your view was on it. I hope to get quite a few reviews on this one. :) Special thanks to Amy122 for the advice. Remember people, I'm always open to help and advice to make this story better. And if anyone has any good song ideas to help me write at times, you're more than welcome to message me with them. THANKS EVERYONE!**


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